65% fear mass attack

A majority of Utahns — 65 percent — believe terrorists will probably strike America with a weapon of mass destruction.

In a Deseret News/KSL-TV poll conducted Sept. 26, 47 percent said it was somewhat likely that terrorists would try to explode a nuclear bomb or use chemical or biological weapons in the United States, while another 18 percent said it was very likely terrorists would try such attacks in America.

Wirthlin poll September 2001 How likely do you think it is that terrorists will explode a nuclear bomb in the United States within the next 10 years? VERY LIKELY               25% SOMEWHAT LIKELY      43% SOMEWHAT UNLIKELY   18% NOT AT ALL LIKELY       14% Story continues below DON'T KNOW                1% Use chemical weapons or deadly gas? VERY LIKELY               37% SOMEWHAT LIKELY      46% SOMEWHAT UNLIKELY    9% NOT AT ALL LIKELY        7% DON'T KNOW                 1% Worthlin Worldwide poll

Thirty-two percent said they believed it was somewhat unlikely or unlikely.

And closer to home, 59 percent of Utahns surveyed said that it was somewhat likely or very likely that there would be some type of terrorist attack on the Olympics in February. However, 72 percent said they were somewhat confident or confident that Olympic security efforts could foil any terrorist plot.

Nationally, the concern is even greater. In a recent poll by Wirthlin Worldwide, 83 percent of Americans said it was likely that terrorists would use a chemical weapon or deadly gas in the United States within the next 10 years.

But how real are chemical and biological threats?

Experts consulted by the Deseret News, and testimony on the public record suggest that a chemical threat is unlikely. Germ warfare may be more probable.

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