Charlottesville, VA (AHN) - A senior State Department policy-maker goes on record to warn Americans terrorists are still seeking out nuclear, chemical and biological weapons for use in future attacks.

Robert Joseph, undersecretary of state for arms control and the senior Bush administration arms proliferation policy-maker says, "If terrorists acquire these weapons, they are likely to employ them, with potentially catastrophic effects."

He continues by saying a well-organized terrorist group with technical expertise could fashion a crude nuclear device once it obtains the fissile material for the bomb's fuel.

Besides incendiary explosives, he warns biological weapons could also be used in an attack by terrorists, due to the availability of dual-use equipment and access to pathogens, some of which occur naturally.

Joseph says, "The bioterrorism challenge presents a low-cost means of a potentially high-impact attack. We cannot rest as long as enough material for even one nuclear weapon remains unsecured.”

U.S. intelligence officials have confirmed through documents from al-Qaida facilities that the group was working on developing nuclear, chemical and biological weapons in Afghanistan under the Taliban regime.

Osama bin Laden, al-Qaida’s elusive leader, has said that obtaining nuclear arms is a religious duty for his extremist followers.

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Ayinde O. Chase - All Headline News Staff Writer