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A new book by veteran reporter Bob Woodward asserts that a secret drill in May revealed that the U.S. government was far from ready to respond to a nuclear terrorist strike on the country, the Washington Post reported yesterday (see GSN, May 14).
Woodward wrote that the exercise posited the use of an improvised nuclear device in Indianapolis, Ind., and the possibility of a similar strike at the same time in Los Angeles. Such an event would be a "potential game changer," Obama told Woodward for the book, "Obama's Wars."
"When I go down the list of things I have to worry about all the time, that is at the top, because that's one where you can't afford to make any mistakes," the president said (Steve Luxenberg, Washington Post, Sept. 22).
Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine) yesterday voiced dismay over the report at a Senate Homeland Security Committee hearing, particularly in light of the work the federal government has done to improve its nuclear readiness, Politico reported.
"I chose not to go into this today because I have a feeling this is something we would need to deal with in a classified setting in any event, but, obviously, that's very troubling," Collins said. "We have had on this committee repeated hearings on our ability to deal with a nuclear attack, whether it's a full-scaled weapon or a dirty bomb, as well as looking at chemical and biological attacks."
"The warning from the Talent-Graham commission of an attack somewhere in the world by the year 2013 using a nuclear, chemical or biological weapon still rings in my ears," the senator said (see GSN, Dec. 1, 2008). "And so I do believe this is an issue that we need to pursue as well."
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, FBI Director Robert Mueller and National Counterterrorism Center Director Michael Leiter were testifying before the Senate panel and did not offer any statements to deny the book's assertion (Josh Gerstein, Politico, Sept. 22).
Woodward wrote that the exercise posited the use of an improvised nuclear device in Indianapolis, Ind., and the possibility of a similar strike at the same time in Los Angeles. Such an event would be a "potential game changer," Obama told Woodward for the book, "Obama's Wars."
"When I go down the list of things I have to worry about all the time, that is at the top, because that's one where you can't afford to make any mistakes," the president said (Steve Luxenberg, Washington Post, Sept. 22).
Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine) yesterday voiced dismay over the report at a Senate Homeland Security Committee hearing, particularly in light of the work the federal government has done to improve its nuclear readiness, Politico reported.
"I chose not to go into this today because I have a feeling this is something we would need to deal with in a classified setting in any event, but, obviously, that's very troubling," Collins said. "We have had on this committee repeated hearings on our ability to deal with a nuclear attack, whether it's a full-scaled weapon or a dirty bomb, as well as looking at chemical and biological attacks."
"The warning from the Talent-Graham commission of an attack somewhere in the world by the year 2013 using a nuclear, chemical or biological weapon still rings in my ears," the senator said (see GSN, Dec. 1, 2008). "And so I do believe this is an issue that we need to pursue as well."
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, FBI Director Robert Mueller and National Counterterrorism Center Director Michael Leiter were testifying before the Senate panel and did not offer any statements to deny the book's assertion (Josh Gerstein, Politico, Sept. 22).
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