Article September 5, 2005 Issue

NOT 'IF' OR 'WHEN'

BY CHANNING WALKER

"When will terrorists detonate a nuclear device in the United States?" This question, which for years lurked unspoken beneath numberless discussions on terrorism, now regularly vaults into the public discourse. A recent opinion piece in the Los Angeles Times by Pakistani professor of nuclear and high-energy physics, Pervez Hoodbhoy, was simply titled "When?" The image of a mushroom cloud filled the page behind the title. As if anticipating that some anxious readers would want to retitle his piece "If," he noted soberly, "Some nuclear weapons experts say privately that it is not a question of if but when the attack will happen" ("When?" by Pervez Hoodbhoy, www.latimes.com, July 10, 2005).

"THE DIVINE LOVE, which made harmless the poisonous viper, which delivered men from the boiling oil, from the fiery furnace, from the jaws of the lion, ... can heal the sick in every age and triumph over sin and death." — Mary Baker Eddy, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 243

Hoodbhoy, encouragingly, does not share that nightmare outlook. He sees hope for ratcheting down the danger level, diminishing the acrimony on the international scene, joining forces with others intent on preserving the peace and safety of humanity, and dissipating the fear. He sees ways of effectively reducing nuclear stockpiles, as well as shutting down avenues through which terrorists might acquire them. Despite the title of his piece, for him it's still a question of if not when.