Preventing Catastrophic Nuclear Terrorism; CRS No. 11, March 2006

New York: Council on Foreign Relations, 2006. Wraps. vii, [1], 33, [3] pages. Footnotes. List of other Council on Foreign Relations Special Reports at the back. Cover has slight wear and soiling. Charles D. Ferguson is President of the Federation of American Scientists and an Adjunct Professor in Georgetown University's Security Studies Program. Trained as a physicist and nuclear engineer, he has worked on nuclear policy issues at the U.S. Department of State and the Council on Foreign Relations. The United States and the international community must do more to prevent terrorists from buying, stealing, or building nuclear weapons. Pakistan's highly enriched uranium is vulnerable to both external and insider theft by Islamic terrorists and Taliban sympathizers; Russia's massive HEU supplies are susceptible to insider theft; a large portion of civilian nuclear material around the world remains in weapons-usable form; and Russia's shorter-range tactical nuclear weapons are highly attractive to terrorists because of their smaller size and ease of transport. To address these vulnerabilities, the United States should pursue unilateral initiatives such as a clear declaration of retaliation against regimes aiding nuclear terrorists, multilateral initiatives that include increasing funding to the woefully underfunded International Atomic Energy Agency, and bilateral initiatives and dialogue, particularly with Pakistan and Russia. Implementing these practical steps could significantly reduce the risk of a catastrophic nuclear attack by terrorist groups. A nuclear attack by terrorists against the United States has the potential to make the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, look like a historical footnote. In addition to the immediate horrific devastation, such an attack could cost trillions of dollars in damages, potentially sparking a global economic depression. Although, during the 2004 presidential campaign, President George W. Bush and Democratic challenger Senator John F. Kerry agreed that terrorists armed with nuclear weapons worried them more than any other national security threat, the U.S. government has yet to elevate nuclear terrorism prevention to the highest priority. Despite several U.S. and international programs to secure nuclear weapons and the materials to make them, major gaps in policy remain. This report makes clear what is needed to reduce the possibility of nuclear terrorism. It identifies where efforts have fallen short in securing and eliminating nuclear weapons and weapons-usable nuclear materials, and it offers realistic recommendations to plug these gaps in the U.S. and international response. The result is a clear primer on a critical subject and a set of practical proposals that policymakers would be wise to consider carefully. Condition: Very good.

Keywords: Nuclear Weapons, Nuclear Explosions, Terrorism, Fissile Material, Radioactive Materials, Weapons of Mass Destruction, Plutonium, Highly Enriched Uranium, Dirty Bomb, Radiological Weapon

ISBN: 0876093551

[Book #73699]

Price: $45.00

See all items in Nuclear Weapons, Plutonium, Terrorism
See all items by