A high-ranking military officer has come forward saying "a real danger exists" for a large-scale terrorist attack in the coming weeks, adding Vice President Dick Cheney spends his entire day consumed with issues of terrorism and U.S. nuclear retaliation in the Middle East if an attack on American soil occurs.

The retired officer, who remains anonymous, claims military factions are battling over how to address the terrorist threat, claiming the Iraq War, the threats being leveled to Iran and Israel's stranglehold on the Palestinians has created instability within U.S. political and military establishments.

These reports compound earlier reports made last week by others in the military that Cheney had already ordered Strategic Command (STRATCOM) to prepare a nuclear attack against Iran, a fact verified by Washington insiders, including Lyndon LaRouche, a former democratic nominee for President, who now has taken up the role as a spear-thrower while getting the message out for several senators on Capital Hill not willing for political reasons to go public.

Confirming military sources, LaRouche said he also learned this week said that the plan for a nuclear strike against Iran has been in the works longer than thought, actually starting in 2004 after Ariel Sharon and his government made threats "that Israel would take out Iran's nuclear facilities" like it did in Iraq in 1981.

"I think under the Bush adminnistration time-frame we are weeks away from an attack on our homeland and also an impending nuclear catastrophe," said LaRouche, an outspoken Bush critic in a telephone conversation from his Vermont political headquarters called Larouche PAC.

Although the high-ranking officer claimed the military is highly resistant to crossing the nuclear threshold, he warned if it is crossed "there will be hell to pay for the next 50 years."

And to verify plans for an Iranian nuclear assault are all too real, today retired Maj. Gen. Paul Vallely went public with some shocking statements about how close the world actually is to a nuclear conflict.

"It's similar to what we had during the Cold War," said Vallely. "We tell the radical Islamists, `If you launch one nuclear device against us anywhere, we will then irradiate Mecca and Medina because you know all Muslims have to go there at least once in their lifetime.

"Change the regime in Iran and you change the whole Middle East. All roads lead to Teheran: Hamas, Hezbollah, Al Qaeda. I told the Pentagon that my sources have also sighted bin Laden in Iran. They're also supporting Zarqawi.

"We could conduct operations, but they would be covert, to take out training camps in Syria and Iran.'' With regard to the Iranian nuclear program, the Israelis have completed targeting for Iran, and bunker busters have already been given to Israel.''

Further raising eye-brows and fueling tension of another 9/11-like attack is the ongoing simulated nuclear terrorist attack, called Exercise Sudden Response being held this week from Aug. 15- 19 at Ft. Monroe, VA.

Regarding the nuclear exercise, Capt. Kevin McNamara, media relations officer, said the training session is being conducted officially by the Joint Task Force Civil Support (JTF-CS), beginning last Monday and ending Thursday.

"The exercise will focus on the Department of Defense's ability to support civil and federal authorities in providing a coordinated response to a nuclear explosion in a major U.S. city. The exercise will be a computer-based field training exercise with very limited troop movements. All unit-level troop movements and response activities will be simulated," said Capt. McNamara.

Some observers are worried since preceding or during most every other terrorist attack, including 9/11 and the 7/7 London bombings the American and British governments were coincidentally holding a similar type training session like occurred in the attacks.