Dead Heat launched yesterday and became the #1 thriller on Amazon. But while it's fiction, the threat of rogue states and/or terrorist groups trying to launch nuclear attacks against the U.S. and our allies is all too real.
Indeed, in the last twenty-four hours, the leaders of Germany and Great Britain have expressed new concerns over possible coming nuclear attacks. Neither suggested having intelligence indicating such attacks were close at hand, but their warnings turned heads on several continents.
They also echoed concerns raised by American national security leaders over the past year, including Vice President Dick Cheney, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, and former CIA Director George Tenet.
On a tour through the Middle East this week, Sen. John McCain also warned of the growing nuclear threat from Iran and further warned that Hamas, Hezbollah and other terror groups could be planning to strike not only the Israel but the U.S. and Europe as well.
For starters, consider this morning's headline out of London: "Britain faces a rising threat of nuclear attack, says Gordon Brown."
"Gordon Brown faces accusations of scaremongering today with claims that Britain faces a rising threat of nuclear attack," reports the Mirror. "The Prime Minister will tell the Commons that an increasing number of rogue states are getting nuclear weapons. And he will warn there are more and more terrorist groups trying to get 'dirty bombs,' which can spread radioactive material over vast areas....He will also say the chance of a pandemic flu, which could kill millions, is high and problems of droughts and floods from global warming will rise. He will add that protecting electronic systems from the threat of computer warfare will be a priority. Mr Brown is also expected to announce plans to set up a US-style National Security Council."
Then consider this headline: "Merkel: Ahmadinejad's Nuclear Ambitions 'a Major Threat' To The World."
"Speaking in the Israel Parliament, German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's nuclear ambitions pose 'a major threat' not only to Israel, but to the world as well," according to news reports out of Jerusalem. "Merkel, who became the first German Chancellor to address Israel's parliament, the Knesset on Tuesday....'It is not the world that has to prove that Iran is building a bomb, rather, Iran has to prove to the world that it does not want the nuclear bomb,' Merkel told Israeli leaders. The German Chancellor also denounced Ahmedinejad's challenge to Israel's right to exist as a sovereign nation. She also made it clear that Germany would support further sanctions on Iran if it fails to provide clear evidence supporting Ahmadinejad's assertion that his country's nuclear program is intended for peaceful purposes only. Merkel, leader of a nation that was responsible for kill! ing 6 million Jews during World War II, said in a tone of confession that 'the Holocaust fills us with shame....'I bow my head before the survivors and I bow my head before you in tribute to the fact that you were able to survive," Merkel said. She vowed to battle 'any flare-ups of anti-Semitism, racism and xenophobia in Germany or in Europe.'"
Then came this headline: "John McCain: Israel's enemies threaten us all."
"I think Iran is a threat to the region," said Sen. McCain, noting that Iran is "obviously pursuing nuclear weapons....At the end of the day, we can still not afford to have Iran with nuclear weapons...We know they have ambitions that are not just aimed at the State of Israel." He added that these ambitions included "destabilisation of the entire region upon which the United States' national security interests rest."
What's more, McCain warned that, "If Hamas and Hizbollah succeeds here in Israel, they are going to succeed everywhere, not only in the Middle East, but everywhere. Israel isn't the only enemy."
Meanwhile, there is this headline out of Geneva: "North Korea, U.S. Fail to Reach Accord on Nuclear Declaration."
"Nuclear disarmament talks with North Korea remain deadlocked after U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill failed to persuade the communist nation to disclose its atomic program," reported Bloomberg News. "'We did not reach an agreement that will allow us to move forward,'' Hill told reporters in Geneva late yesterday after about eight hours of talks with his North Korean counterpart Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye Gwan. 'There is no question that we need to move faster.' Hill said he and Kim hadn't scheduled further talks and must report back to their governments. International negotiations, also involving South Korea, Russia, China and Japan, have been stalled since Kim Jong Il's regime missed a Dec. 31 deadline to provide a complete and accurate declaration of its atomic programs and materials."
Such international concerns over possible nuclear attacks echo warnings issued by several U.S. security officials over the past year or so, including:
* "Cheney: Nuclear attack 'a very real threat'" (April 16, 2007)
* "Chertoff: We're Preparing for Nuclear Attack" (September 10, 2007).
* "Tenet: Al-Qaida's Nuclear Threat Real" (April 30, 2007)
The point is not that such apocalyptic attacks against the U.S., Europe, Israel or elsewhere are imminent or necessarily destined to come to pass. The point is that a growing number of world leaders believe such threats are real and significant. We should not take their warnings lightly. Dead Heat is a fictional scenario, looking at how such horrors could unfold. Let's pray they never do. Hopefully, our nation's political, military, intelligence and law enforcement leaders will have the necessary wisdom, courage, and sense of urgency to counter and neutralize these threats, and many others like them, in time.
