U.S. official warns of ‘catastrophic’ weapons use

This is one of those items that is scarcely news if yuou happen to recall something that happened a few years back on September 11th.

A senior State Department official is warning that terrorists are continuing to seek nuclear, chemical and biological weapons for use in future attacks. “If terrorists acquire these weapons, they are likely to employ them, with potentially catastrophic effects,” said Robert Joseph, undersecretary of state for arms control and the senior Bush administration arms proliferation policy-maker.

This is interesting, for it’s one of several cases recently when the State Department has been making a surprising degree of sense. Seems to the Chief like Condi has managed to get them into line to a welcome and surprising extent.

Mr. Joseph also said the U.S. government will not back off from sanctions imposed on an Asian bank that the Treasury Department said was part of the North Korean government’s illegal counterfeiting and money-laundering program.

Shocking! The US imposing some real commercial sanctions!? Bully!