Column: The road ahead?
2005 - A radiological "dirty bomb" is detonated in central Paris, killing 4,500 people immediately and forcing a long-term evacuation of much of the city. There is no claim of responsibility, but after concluding that Libyan-backed terrorists were behind the blast, the French government takes firm action. Under intense pressure from NATO allies, it chooses not to respond with a nuclear strike, but French forces invade Libya and topple the regime of Colonel Qaddafi.