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Chemical warfare threat less likely Osama bin Laden, the prime suspect in masterminding the terrorist attacks on the United States, has never denied his interest in acquiring nuclear, biological and chemical weapons -- although that doesn't appear to be the direction in which he is headed. In a television interview in 1999, he said, "To seek to possess the weapons that could counter those of the infidels is a religious duty." Indeed, in court documents unsealed …

…Thus, if these criteria continue to hold, the greatest care should be given to protecting the U.S. government's nuclear, biological and chemical facilities and laboratories from a suicide attack either from the air or the ground. Attempts to poison the population of a U.S. city by contaminating its water supplies with chemical or biological agents would likely fail. Palestinian terrorists have tried the chemical route against the Israel national water carrier without success.