London's Dirty Bomb Tests
London is running a dirty-bomb drill. Mostly a movie-plot threat, but these sorts of drills are useful, regardless of the scenario.
I agree with this:
As ever, plain old explosives are the big worry. As for chemicals, compare the effects of the Tokyo subway gas attack (10 terrorists, five attacks each involving 1kg of hard-to-get sarin nerve gas, 12 dead total) with a typical backpack-bomb attack (London 7/7: four terrorists, four simple home made devices, 52 dead). Only a stupid attacker would bother with chemicals. Real pros like the IRA, for instance, never have.
Although with a dirty bomb, the media-inspired panic would certainly be a huge factor.
Alex • May 21, 2007 7:15 AM
Even without the ‘dirty’ factor media are actually one of the most helpfull terrorists’ tool. An excellent example can be seen in the first episode of the 5th season of ‘Spooks’ where (in this case deliberate) media reporting is a crucial ingredient in spreading fear.