Former top counterterrorism adviser Richard Clarke is sworn in to testify on Capitol Hill to the federal panel reviewing the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Photo by The Associated Press.

A former head of counterterrorism for two American presidents believes Las Vegas would be a desirable place for al-Qaida to launch a second wave of attacks.

In a January 2005 article for The Atlantic Monthly, Richard Clarke, the former Clinton and Bush anti-terrorism czar, contemplates a scenario in which Islamic extremists attack "unbelievers in Sin City."

The magazine piece, which took the form of a hypothetical lecture given on the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, was based on Clarke's expertise in the area of counterterrorism, not on specific intelligence indicating Las Vegas faces a threat.

Clarke said in a phone interview with the Review-Journal earlier this year that Las Vegas is an inviting target for terrorists, partly because of the city's large visitor population and economic dependence on tourism.

"Las Vegas has a huge vulnerability," Clarke said. "There's no ability to spot terrorists with the large number of people in casinos. ... If your vulnerability and your enemy's intent come together, you're at high risk."

Local law enforcement and hotel security officials admit that Strip resorts, which seek to avoid airport-style security hurdles, are soft targets.

Of Clarke's premise, Sheriff Bill Young said, "He's right. We are lightly defended."

Dave Shepherd, former security director at The Venetian, said Clarke's scenario touches a nerve with officials in the casino industry who are trying to focus more on anti-terrorism.

"Security has to be effective but unobtrusive," Shepherd said. "It's a dilemma that hasn't been solved anywhere in the world."

In Clarke's hypothetical attack, two suicide bombings occur simultaneously at Strip hotels, killing dozens and plunging the local economy into recession.

"We know terrorists want to do spectacular attacks that kill large numbers of people and have a large secondary economic effect," Clarke said in the telephone interview.

The terrorism expert said he believes Sin City's very existence would be jeopardized by an attack.

"I think it's existential," Clarke said. "It would be years before anybody came back."