As Iran nears nuclear status & North Korea continues to make nukes, and a nuclear-armed Pakistan looks less table by the day, here is a WP article after a major Senate hearing in Bush's ast year, detailing how witnesses described the destruction a nuclear device that exploded on the Mall in Washington, DC would wreak on the nation's capital.
Were a device exploded on the Mall near the White House....
According to Center for Disease Control expert Cham Dallas:
A 1-kiloton device, which could fit into a suitcase, could kill about 25,000 people, he said. A 10-kiloton explosive, which could be hidden in a van, could kill about 100,000, Dallas said.
The 10-kiloton blast would release fatal doses of radiation in the immediate area and destroy almost all buildings within a half-mile radius, he said. The intense heat would burn people for many blocks and spark fires. Windows would shatter for miles, Dallas testified, gesturing to a color-coded map that showed damage as far out as Union Station.
The danger wouldn't be limited to those in the blast area. A radioactive plume would start drifting from the blast point, subjecting those in its path to lethal levels of radiation, Dallas said. The plume's direction would be determined by weather conditions.
Dallas's model envisions a 10-block-wide "death plume" moving east, the direction the wind typically blows in Washington. It billows down Constitution Avenue, reaching Benning Road NE in 30 to 60 minutes.
Bottom Line. Dithering on Iran & North Korea brings us closer to nightmares like the one above. Either power might transfer a weapon to a terrorist group.
Letter from the Capitol, LFTC, 9/11, National Security, Terrorism, Homeland Security, Nuclear Proliferation, Arms Control, WMD, Foreign Policy
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