THE NEXT STRIKE IN AMERICA?

Al Qaeda may have struck again in Spain. Initial reports are sketchy.

But two other interesting stories in the news today may have a closer relationship than you know.

First: Chicago's Sears Tower, the tallest building in the United States, was sold by MetLife. No-one outside the deal knows who bought the skyscraper; the new buyer insisted on a confidentiality agreement. Why, I wonder, would someone want to keep such a purchase secret?

Second: An Arabic newspaper in London published a communication allegedly from Al Qaida, announcing the near-completion of an operation titled "Winds of Black Death." No-one knows if this letter is authentic.

What is the relationship between these two factoids? None, I hope. But, but, but...

A source whose identity I cannot now disclose (and whose reliability I cannot gauge) once reported that the next terrorist strike in the United States would be a "small" atomic explosion near the Sears Tower. The building stands very near the Chicago River, a fact which suggests one delivery method.

The potential loss of life is horrifying enough. But one should also note that America's greatest collection of art outside the east coast rests within the immediate environs of the Sears Tower. That's where you'll find "American Gothic," Seurat's "La Grande Jatte," and many, many other extraordinary works.

The prospect of such a disaster staggers the imagination. One fears for one's country. One fears what this country may do in response. 300 million Americans will know a blood fury unlike anything the world has seen previously.

Right now, my source has given me no more than a rumor. Hell, I'm not even sure if one can say that this matter has substance enough to qualify as a rumor. Normally, the reporting of a sensational, unsubstantiated claim is something most observers rightfully disdain. In this one instance, however, I felt it best to put a "date stamp" on the prediction -- just in case it should prove true.

As I hope to god it does not.