The trouble with convenient short forms (e.g., WMD) is that after a while no one pays attention to what they refer to. The key here lies in "Franks has speculated that in the wake of a MAJOR [emphasis added] WMD attack." That is, in the event of a nuclear attack on most u.s. cities, there would be a military dictatorship. Of course there would. That was assumed in a famous ABC movie back in the '70s, I forget its title now. There wouldn't be anyone else left to govern.
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This was, more or less, my impression of Franks' statements when I first read them (and the little whirlwind of excited commentary inspired by his words) months ago.
The unspoken assumption, which dovetails nicely with the administration's claims regarding the threat from terrorism (and Hussein's implied involvement as wannabe supplier via "weapons related program activties") is that al qaeda and allied tradesmen have truly devastating weapons in their evil bag of murderous tricks.
Therefore, all measures taken to defend us are justified including launching two invasions and occupying two countries.
Franks' statements about the inevitability of military dictatorship following "another devastating attack" helps maintain the aura of super-terror.
The horrible, can't-look-away spectacle of the WTC falling into smoking rubble has, I believe, confused many into thinking anything is possible. That is, the mind boggling simplicity of HOW the deed was done (15 men, box cutters...) has been buried within the subconscious. The fact that it WAS done, and that it resembled the sort of large scale, all-at-a-go destruction previously seen in films (featuring extraterrestrial war machines, nuclear devastation, etc.) has helped create the impression that terrorists must have super-weapons at their disposal. The image overwhelms any facts.
It's very strange that, several years after the collapse of the USSR, a new uber-foe has been served up (just in time to give the West a focus it seems) to justify domestic discipline, astounding military expenditures and dire predictions offered during interviews for a cigar consumer magazine.
It's almost as if the American character is structured to describe all threats -- real and imagined -- in apocalyptic terms. Remarkable that a nation could live to well past 200 years of age in a near constant state of emergency about one thing or another.
DRM