Unleashing the Beast

286 / U NLEASHING THE B EAST

Qaeda operation in Afghanistan. The Taliban would grow poppy plants, the seeds of which are used to produce heroin. The seeds were sold to the Russian mafia on the black market in return for weapons, weapon building information and raw materials to successfully wage a terrorist campaign. The dangerous aspect of such an alignment is the possibility of chemical, biological and nuclear weapons being unleashed upon a major American city. Knowing this threat, the United States federal government is preparing vaccines and suggesting that cities have contingency plans in the event of such an emergency. S HOULD W E H AVE K NOWN IN A DVANCE ? One of the issues that will undoubtedly be debated for years to come is whether America's vast and expensive intelligence network was asleep at the wheel in the weeks and months leading up to the September 11 attacks. Critics have questioned how a conspiracy to seize four large commercial jetliners and use them for guided missiles could go undetected. Some in the intelligence community argue, perhaps rightfully so, that suicide missions of any kind are virtually impossible to stop. According to a Reuters News Service report, dated July 11, 2001, Asst. Director Dale Watson of the FBI's Counter-Terrorism Division told a National Governors Association Conference: We predict major terrorist attacks against U.S. interests