Must Read Articles

Timeline of Events in Osama bin Laden's "American Hiroshima" Plan

Hamid Mir, the Pakistani journalist who has interviewed Osama bin Laden three times, last met with bin Laden in November of 2001, shortly before bin Laden had to flee Afghanistan. At that time bin Laden told Hamid Mir he had acquired 20 suitcase nukes from the former Soviet Union. Although some people say that suitcase nukes do not exist, they are incorrect. There is a March 4, 2007 article in Parade Magazine on suitcase nukes. And also, both the U.S. and the Soviet Union made hundreds of nuclear artllery shells that can fit in a suitcase, and many of these are missing from the former Soviet Union.

Yossef Bodansky, who was Director of the Congressional Task Force on Terrorism for 16 years, says in his new book "Chechen Jihad" that Osama acquired these nukes in 1997. NewsMax.com reported on July 18, 2004 in the article "Osama's Nukes Traced to Soviet General" that Hans Blix, the IAEA weapons inspector, after investigating the matter, told his colleagues at the IAEA that he believes it is true that Osama did acquire suitcase nukes.

Some people say the nukes would be degraded by now. However the nuclear weapons grade uranium 235 core is still very functional. Uranium 235 has a half life of over 500 hundred years, which means after 500 years, half of it would be degraded, and half of it would still be intact. Although the triggers do degrade, they can be kept functional by routine maintainance every 6 months. We have evidence Osama has a team led by Adnan Shukrijumah, who the FBI calls "the next Mohammed Atta", and who has training in nuclear technology, and this team maintains the nukes for Osama. And Yossef Bodansky says Osama hired 20 Russian SPESNAZ special forces soldiers whose job it had been in the Soviet Union to maintain and service the suitcase nukes for the KGB, to maintain the nukes for Osama. And Hamid Mir reports he met a Ukrainian nuclear scientist who was helping bin Laden when Hamid last saw him.

Here is a rough timeline of events:

• 1992: Osama assembles a team of scientists and engineers to help him acquire nuclear weapons
• 1997: Osama acquires 20 suitcase nukes from Chechen Muslim rebels who stole the bombs from the former Soviet Union
• 2001: August One month before 9/11, Osama meets with two of A.Q.Khan's nuclear scientists, Dr. Mahmood and Dr. Majid, to discuss Osama's nuclear program (this is in former Director of the CIA George Tenet's new book).
• 2001: September 11 Osama attacks America on 9/11
• 2001: November Just before Osama flees Afghanistan, he tells Hamid Mir he has 20 suitcase nukes
• 2004: Hamid Mir reports he has traced one of the nukes to Italy on its way to America
• 2006: January Osama says in Jan. 2006 audiotape he has not quite finished his preparations, and says, "the minute the preparations are through, you will feel the attacks in your own homes". He also offers America a truce, so he can say he has fulfilled Muslim law that you must offer a truce before attacking your enemy.
• 2006: September Hamid Mir reports that the top Al Qaeda commander in Afghanistan tells all Muslims in America to leave America, especially New York and Washington, because Osama may attack America at any time
• 2007: August Al Qaeda's As Sahab website comes out with ad showing White House in flames, and says, "Wait for the Big Surprise--- Soon, God willing".
• 2007: September 7 Osama bin Laden comes out with his first videotape in nearly three years (which is very significant since he had said he would not do any more videotapes, just audiotapes, until such time as he was ready to attack America again). He issues another videotape four days later, on Sept. 11, 2007. He has his beard died black, which is very significant since in the strict Salafist sect of Islam to which Osama belongs, a man is only allowed to die his beard just before he goes into battle. He says on the videotape, "Let us now join the caravan of martyrs. It is our turn now." Osama plans to pull the trigger on "American Hiroshima" as soon as America attacks Iran's nuclear sites, which Osama, and many in the Middle East believe is imminent, as America has three aircraft carrier attack groups off the coast of Iran.
• 2007: December The National Intelligence Estimate comes out saying (erroneously I believe) that Iran will not have nukes for 3 to 5 years. America withdraws two of its aircraft carrier groups.
• 2007: December Ten days after the National Intelligence Estimate comes out, Russia begins shipments of 132 tons of enriched uranium to Iran, which are completed on Jan. 19, 2008. This is enough uranium, once it is enriched further, to make 4,800 Hiroshima-size nuclear bombs!

I believe at this point Iran probably told Osama to hold off on his American Hiroshima" attack to give Iran time to develop a nuclear arsenal out of the enriched uranium the Russians have given them.

So now Osama is waiting for the right moment to detonate the nuclear devices he has in 7 or more U.S. cities. Hamid Mir tells us Taliban chieftans and Al Qaeda leaders have told him Osama is waiting for a large killing of Muslims in the Palestinian area, or some galvanizing event like Israel or the U.S. attacking Iran's nuclear sites, to give him justification for pulling the trigger on his "American Hiroshima" plan and killing ten million Americans.

But since Osama has already gotten a fatwa or religious order saying it is okay to kill ten million Americans, as Christianne Amanpour of CNN reports, perhaps he may pull the trigger at any time!

Note: For those who mistakenly think Osama is broke financially, Osama and the Taliban get a huge cut of the millions of dollars that flow from the Afghanistan poppy trade, which last year supplied 93% of the world's opium for heroin. The Taliban control 12 of the 20 provinces in Afghanistan. The opium has to go through their territory to get to market in Turkey and elsewhere. Osama uses this money to fund his "American Hiroshima" plan.

Sincerely,

Dr. Hugh Cort, President

American Foundation for Counter-Terrorism Policy and Research