Hypothetically: Terrorists explode Dirty Bomb in NYC lower east side...?

Great Debates
#1

Al Quaeda just took responsibility for exploding a dirty bomb full of radioactive material on the lower east side of Manhatten.

**This is a hypothetical situation.
2 million people are displaced and clean up will take years. If this were to happen before we invade Iraq, who would the US start to bomb? Afghanistan again? Continue with Iraq?

Bin Ladin’s body has still not been found. Does a new ring leader proclaim himself? Who would we bomb next? Would we bomb, would we nuke?

I know this is a grim topic, but I am wondering how thin the US can spread itself? Is there such thing as the US being spread too thin?

#2

I’ll be back to the boards after I change my underpants.

#3

OK, Coda, I’m going to say this as politely and as calmly as I can…

DON’T EVER DO THAT AGAIN!!.

Put the “hypothetical” note before the sentence next time, OK?

Zev Steinhardt

#4

And before anyone calls me a hypocrite because of my thread at least I made it clear in the first sentence that it was a hypothetical question. Coda actually made my heart skip a bit for two seconds.

Zev Steinhardt

#5

Moderator’s Note: Yah, I’m a fast reader, but still… I think we’ve all learned of one of the Latest Big Stories by coming to the boards and seeing a thread or twelve about it that we want to be clear about this stuff. I have edited the thread title a bit.

#6

The BBC programme Horizon looked at this kindof thing except using London. Quite scary reading.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/horizon/2003/dirtybomb.shtml

#7

Sorry ZEV. Seriously! It was actually your thread that inspired this one. Thanks Buck for editing it. I had a sense one of you would. It was actually quite scary even writing the thread, but in this day and age of hatred and intolerence I thought I’d pose the questions.

I shiver when I think of the impact, but then I remind myself that I was around for the cuban missile crisis, and that was ten times more scary, talk about scared. Imagine everyone in your neighborhood building bomb shelters… Forget terrorist survival kits, think stockpiling enough food for a year 30 feet under your house!

#8

Tricky question. Obviously, the hunt for Al Quaeda heats up again. If Iraq has nothing to do with it (IOW, our troops are occupied peeking under rocks in central Asia and elsewhere), this could be a problem. At this point, attacking Iraq (although I don’t agree with it) is such a forgone concluison that backing off would cause us to lose face. Heck, giving up to hunt for the real danger would make Bush look quite the dumbass.

As a result, US forces aren’t at full strength, and take more of a beating than they could have, had we been concentrating on Saddam alone.

When we find the next plausible terrorist base. Best case scenario: Iraq. Fight Saddam as well. Second best: Afganistan again, where already there and the local government won’t complain.

In the meantime, however, property values in New Jersey go way up.

#9

Go here–

http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=162871

BLAST IT!!!

Everybody in this thread read the link!!! :mad:

#10

Fuck, the commute home is gonna be a real mess then.

#11

High-tech urban renewal?

:smiley:

#12

Well, from what I gather, a dirty bomb is not NEARLY as damaging or difficult to clean up as it is portrayed, and since the Lower East Side is pretty much a residential area, and houses some of the nightlife, the damage would be pretty minimal comparatively to other parts of Manhattan.

It would be a bad thing but would come nowhere near the level of the World Trade Center attacks.

Of course people would worry about cancer for years, but we’re dealing with that from Agent Orange and Gulf War Syndrome and other such things that have affected thousands of people over 20-30 years.

Erek

#13

I lived on the lower east side for 6 years and at the time would have considered a dirty nuke to be a step towards urban renewal.

#14

Heh, the LES is the hip trendy neighborhood these days. Ha, I’d even say it’s past it’s hip, trendy heyday and on it’s decline, though the recession might actually save it from declining into the yuppy homogeny that the rest of downtown Manhattan has become.

Zen Question: How many sushi places does St. Marks Place need before it is complete?

Erek