On this blog you will read a piece by our reporter Vince Patton about the two stories he produced this week about the threat of a terrorist attack here in Portland. Vince's stories focused on two what-ifs. What if terrorists smuggled enriched uranium across one of our borders? What if they used that material to detonate a nuclear bomb in downtown Portland?

Many viewers contacted us with concerns about showing terrorists how to do this or, on the other hand, needlessly scaring people. One writer said, "This is FRIGHTENING!! Do you want kids imagining or having nightmares over that prospect? NO!!"

No, we don't want any one to have nightmares over this possibility. At the same time it is our job to make the public aware of the real potential threats from terrorists. Many people think terrorists setting off a nuclear device inside the borders of the United States is the Number One threat to our security. These are not alarmists or people with a political agenda. These are people who study terrorism and know the threats that exist. (You can judge their credibility for yourself by watching Vince's stories. Just click on Special Reports on kgw.com and look for Vince's stories.)

ABC News did earlier reports on how easy it would be to smuggle enriched material into the United States. Vince went to the Canadian border to check out border security. His report concluded that the screening technology we use along the border might not pick up the enriched material that could be used to build a nuclear device. We believe it is important for the people of Oregon and Southwest Washington to know this.

Some people might say that our computer animation showing the explosion of a nuclear device in downtown Portland and the fall-out from that was too graphic. But what better way to illustrate the destruction such a bomb could cause in our city and all the way to central Oregon.

Vince Patton is a big-J journalist. He takes his work very seriously. I share Vince's passion for doing meaningful, substantive journalism. I think we were both impressed by the the overwhelming evidence that this threat was real.

The experts will tell you we are not telling terrorists anything that they don't already know. But it's important for the American people to have knowledge about these threats. Knowledge is power. With knowledge, citizens might act to increase their own security. And isn't that our job as journalists, to empower people by giving them knowledge? I think so.