Omaha, Neb. ? Investment guru Warren Buffett offered a bleak prediction for the nation’s national security, saying a terrorist attack on American soil is “virtually a certainty.”

Envy and dislike of the United States have fueled rage against the country even as the ability to build a nuclear device has spread, Buffett said Sunday at the final day of Berkshire Hathaway Inc.’s annual meeting.

“We’re going to have something in the way of a major nuclear event in this country,” said Buffett, the firm’s chief operating officer. “It will happen. Whether it will happen in 10 years or 10 minutes, or 50 years … it’s virtually a certainty.”

Washington and New York would be the top two targets because terrorists want to traumatize the country and kill as many people as possible, Buffett said.

Chemical or biological attacks are similarly high risks, Buffett said.

Buffett is the second-richest man in the world with holdings in Coca-Cola Co., American Express and The Washington Post, but his main business is insurance.