December 3, 2008
Posted: December 3rd, 2008 04:10 PM ET

From
Biden was told Wednesday that a WMD attack is ‘more than likely’ somewhere in the world before 2013.
Biden was told Wednesday that a WMD attack is ‘more than likely’ somewhere in the world before 2013.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Vice President-elect Joe Biden and Secretary of Homeland Security-designate Janet Napolitano received a bi-partisan commission briefing Wednesday on potential attacks involving weapons of mass destruction. The commission’s chairman, former Democratic Sen. Bob Graham, didn’t mince words when he told the two members of the incoming administration that “it is more likely than not that between now and the year 2013 there will be a weapon of mass destruction used someplace in the world.”

After reviewing the 'World at Risk' report from the Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism, Biden said that the government is not doing all it can to prevent a possible WMD attack.

“The answer that jumps out very starkly is no, we’re not doing all we can or should. And we’re not doing all we can to prevent the world’s most lethal weapons from winding up in the hands of terrorists,” said Biden. “But this report is, in my view, more than a warning about what we’re doing wrong, it’s a pragmatic blueprint how to get it right...”

Graham and Sen. Jim Talent led the bi-partisan commission that was established by Congress as a recommendation of the 9/11 Commission. Talent focused his comments Wednesday on steps they believe the government needs to take, including regulating work on biological pathogens and Pakistan’s nuclear elements because the country is “the nexus of all these threats right now and it’s deteriorating.”

Talent joked that he and Graham flipped a coin to see who would deliver the bad news, a duty that clearly fell to Graham as he told Biden, Napolitano and his fellow members of the Commission that terrorist groups are progressing, are more nimble and the ease of acquiring a biological weapon has increased.

“This leads us to the conclusion, one, that we have been losing ground and we are less secure today that we have been in the recent past,” said Graham. “Number two, that the threat is that it is more likely than not that between now and the year 2013 there will be a weapon of mass destruction used someplace in the world. And third, that it is more likely that that weapon will be biological than nuclear.”

Gov. Napolitano kept her remarks brief but reiterated that “the threat, whether nuclear, biological, chemical, radiological is a very real one indeed.” The Arizona governor said she would act on the commission’s recommendations in the Department of Homeland Security “with the urgency called for by the nature of the threat that confronts us.”

After the foursome made their introductory remarks to the press, reporters were ushered out so the group could continue to discuss the commission’s findings in private. Asked by CNN if his role in the administration had been clearly defined, Biden ignored the question.

Filed under: Joe Biden


Theresa   December 4th, 2008 8:16 am ET

GOP will do whatever to install and continue to infiltrate FEAR in America's veins. Let OBAMA and his team take control and the world will be a safer place. Simple.

Sunny South   December 4th, 2008 8:06 am ET

Maybe if Americans insisted upon buying goods made in the USA, instead of shipping so much of what we consume in from India, China, Pakistan, Vietnam etc on container ships, we might have a fighting chance to secure our ports.

Scott Tucson   December 3rd, 2008 9:13 pm ET

The only good thing about Napolitano being the DHS secretary is that she's would be out of our hair and maybe, we will get someone that can fix the illegal immigration problem on our border instead of wanting to look the other way or grant the illegals amnesty.

Tom in Delaware   December 3rd, 2008 9:04 pm ET

Biden looks like he ate too much Burger King...Home of the WMD.

MikeNJ   December 3rd, 2008 8:38 pm ET

Wait.....Now there are WMDs???? would you Dems please get this straight.....so for the last 8 years there weren't any WMDs now all of a sudden there are......idiots

Jenn   December 3rd, 2008 8:30 pm ET

Pakistan is turning out to be a huge headache for America, too bad we wasted tons of resources in Iraq. As for Biden being too dumb he actually said a few years ago the problems of terrorism were going to end up in the Pakistan area and spread into India. I guess he was more on then our last VP, Cheney.

Anonymous   December 3rd, 2008 8:30 pm ET

pray

2young2vote   December 3rd, 2008 8:16 pm ET

Wooohhh, 9 comments now! If we keep this up, we are doomed... This should be a headline article, but I gotta say the beard one was interesting. I hope Pres. Elect Obama and his whole team are prepared to go through some hell, cause there are issues to be solved left and right these day. I'll be able to vote in 4 years, and I hope I'll be re-electing a succesful administration.

Smart Move   December 3rd, 2008 8:00 pm ET

Is Joe Biden smart enough to actually know what WMD even means?

No Hillary = No Obama   December 3rd, 2008 7:56 pm ET

It would be just like the devious, diabolical mind of a psychopathic terrorist to pull the rug right out from under Obamamania and Obama the President when everyone thinks he walks on water -

TimMN   December 3rd, 2008 7:46 pm ET

Oh! Joe Biden kinda forgot about him.

JONNY IN GEORGIA   December 3rd, 2008 7:44 pm ET

are these people palm readers or psychic they here chatter oh they can speak more than one language

Lauren   December 3rd, 2008 7:38 pm ET

Scary,,,, isn't it. How something like this article has hardly no comments, but Richardsons beard gets over 300 comments.

And then we wonder what is worng with this country,,,,

Ben   December 3rd, 2008 7:36 pm ET

Not to mention, this story as 4 comments. The beard story has 313. Good job America.

Rush Lameduck   December 3rd, 2008 7:36 pm ET

Thanks for the rosey news.Now why have we left the borders and ports wide open since 9/11?

Ben   December 3rd, 2008 7:36 pm ET

Not to mention, this story as 4 comments. The beard story has 313. Good job America.

bob   December 3rd, 2008 7:26 pm ET

scare Americans!

Roofin Reality, Houston, Tx.   December 3rd, 2008 7:14 pm ET

Let's all pray that this report is proven wrong.

Darth Vadik, CA   December 3rd, 2008 7:09 pm ET

Can we stop this WMD crap, I have more chance of being hit by lightning then get attacked by WMD. Ever since the "Cold War" we have had somebody to "fear"

GET OVER THE FEAR

Tom in NM   December 3rd, 2008 7:09 pm ET

The beard is a WMD

Mike, Syracuse NY   December 3rd, 2008 7:03 pm ET

And with her open boarder policies, Napolitano will just make it easier for someone to deliver a WMD to the US. Letting her be in charge of HLS is like letting a drug addict run a pharmacy.

JIM   December 3rd, 2008 6:55 pm ET

i thought the age of bush fear mongering was finally over. let's all grow some cajones and stand up straight and run our nation without being terrified, paranoid, and afraid. grow some balls america.

Houston   December 3rd, 2008 6:50 pm ET

Here we go again...

Milhouse van Houten   December 3rd, 2008 6:50 pm ET

"as a recommendation of the 9/11 Commission?"I don't think those involved in that contradiction filled fallacy should be advising anybody,
but prudence should be the order of the day.

Josh   December 3rd, 2008 6:47 pm ET

I don't think in this war anybody will win nor benefit. We'll hunt them down and kill them ( don't forget the colateral damage) and they will hide in their cages till they come up with some plan and hit us where the least we expect them and.... the war continues.

I just hope Obama and his team will find a better way handling this than the previous admin. We can always win the battle but we will never win the war cause the war never ends.

God help us.

Josh

American Citizen   December 3rd, 2008 6:45 pm ET

This article was posted before the beard by one minute.

no bailouts   December 3rd, 2008 6:31 pm ET

instead of bailing out these selfish ceos, we should put money in ways to protect our precious country from the people that want to kill us.

Jeremy   December 3rd, 2008 6:29 pm ET

Because it's cnn, and if they say beards are more important then terrorism, then thats the way it is!

Sarge in Florida   December 3rd, 2008 6:28 pm ET

It is just a matter of time before a rogue terrorist groups get their hands on these weapons. Most likely be furnished by a rogue country that hates us...So sad that it MAY happen on Obama' watch and this will give the GOP more hateful comments against the Dem's. Just remember this report has come out under the BUSH administration...

PLEASE NO JEB BUSH IN THE SENATE FOR FLORIDA...I CAN'T DEAL WITH ANOTHER BUSH NEAR THE WHITE HOUSE. MARTINEZ WAS A PUPPET FOR G.W. BUSH UNTIL HIS BROTHER MADE UPI HIS MIND THAT HE WANTED TO RUN...ANOTHER STEPPING STONE TO TRY AND GET ANOTHER BUSH IN THE WHITE HOUSE...GOD NO PLEASE!!!!

Nick   December 3rd, 2008 6:27 pm ET

Because news of an attack by 2013 was mentioned yesterday. The beard was mentioned today.

roger   December 3rd, 2008 6:22 pm ET

I can only hope that when Obama speaks to our enemies and tells them if we are attacked that we will hold the whole Muslim world responsible and will deal with the entire Muslim world with the capabilities of the United States military.

Me   December 3rd, 2008 6:21 pm ET

It's great to hear that Bush accomplished so much in his disastrous 8 year reign.

Does Janet Napolitano make you feel safe??   December 3rd, 2008 6:19 pm ET

She's Sec. of Homeland Security but what does she know about either preventing terrorist attacks or responding to them???

NOTHING.

We're in big trouble. Buy your armored car now to drive your family around and get a flak jacket for yourself.

ck   December 3rd, 2008 6:15 pm ET

Well, at least Biden now knows that his party's stalling and putting up road block after road block to stop terrorism has come home to roost.

They loved making fun of Bush, they loved putting him down for their own gain, and now we reap what they have sown.

Change is coming alright, but not the kind anyone wants.

WELCOME TO THE OBAMA SHOW   December 3rd, 2008 6:05 pm ET

WHO'S BIDEN????

OH HE KINDA WORKS WITH HILLARY AND OBAMA!!!!!!!!!!

Willy Brown   December 3rd, 2008 6:02 pm ET

Oh now you bring up WMD's

John G   December 3rd, 2008 6:00 pm ET

How exactly does this get second billing to the Bill Richardson Beard article?

MsRotten   December 3rd, 2008 5:57 pm ET

And there is a specific year of 2013 because???? Is the US Government going to let loose another WMD (like AIDS) again before 2013??

Marie banderas   December 3rd, 2008 5:57 pm ET

iF i WASNT AFRAID BEFORE, i sure am NOW !!!!
Oh Please GOD, protect us when our leaders can NOT

boered1   December 3rd, 2008 5:53 pm ET

duh

the key is "somewhere in the world" umm since there are hundreds of terrorist attacks world wide already to think that theywill NOT attack "somewhere in the world" with the largest weapons they can get their hands on in the next 5 years is ludicris...

maybe if we had spent some of the money we used on invading and occupying a country for no reason on detection and training to stop these types of attacks they would not be such a problem. Or maybe we could have worked to defuse the hatred insteaqd of increasing it in the last 7 years.. nahh that would have taken diplomacy and intelligence

El Perro Loco   December 3rd, 2008 5:52 pm ET

Hmmm...and if a Republican had said these things, the left would be screaming about "fear mongering".

Desert Storm Vet   December 3rd, 2008 5:50 pm ET

Well at least we know it won't come from Iraq. Everyone Knows Sadaam didn't have any WMDs and if you don't believe me ask a Kurd.

The good news is that it will not be America that is attacked because by that time the love for America will be flowing once again.

Mari   December 3rd, 2008 5:49 pm ET

Oh boy........ more doomsday!! The sky is falling! The sky is falling!! Please!

We can live in endless fear, or we can choose to see the World through the eyes of faith, hope, love and peace.

Trouble, war, illness, famine, disasters, attacks of all kinds, will go on until the end of tim...... WHY waste ONE PRECIOUS DAY LIVING IN FEAR?

IF we live in fear...... the terrorists have already won!

Ryan - Reality, MI   December 3rd, 2008 5:47 pm ET

I'm sure this information really came when Biden met with Cheney.

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