3/18/2003

In a speech to the House of Commons on March 18, 2003, U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair said the possibility of terrorist groups ” ‘in possession of weapons of mass destruction or even of a so-called dirty radiological bomb–is now, in my judgment, a real and present danger to Britain and its national security. Let me explain the dangers. Three kilograms of VX [nerve gas] from a rocket launcher would contaminate 0.25 sq km of a city. Millions of lethal doses are contained in one litre of anthrax, and 10,000 litres are unaccounted for. What happened on 11 September has changed the psychology of America–that is clear–but it should have changed the psychology of the world.’ ”

 – Tony Blair, A Journey, Page 435