Nuclear Terrorism
World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. AP photo.
RECENT ANALYSIS
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Jan 11, 2012
UNSCR 1540 & the 2012 Nuclear Security Summit: A View From Seoul
The Republic of Korea (ROK) has been and remains a staunch supporter of the global nonproliferation regime as it borders a grave security threat and proliferator of weapons of mass destruction (WMD). With the 2012 Nuclear Security Summit just months away, the Republic of Korea should be more interested in enhancing UNSCR 1540, not only as the Summit Chair but against the backdrop of a “Global Korea” policy and the nation’s growing prominence in the nuclear energy industry. -
Jan 6, 2012
Where Nuclear Safety and Security Meet
A Fukushima-like nuclear accident does not have to be caused by nature. Similar results could be wrought by a dedicated terrorist group that gained access to a nuclear power plant and disabled its safety systems. To guard against natural accidents, terrorist sabotage, and possible combinations of these two classes of events, nuclear plant operators and regulators should consider a combined approach called nuclear safety-security. -
Dec 16, 2011
Energy and Water Conference Agreement Protects Nuclear Material Security Programs, Begins to Reduce Bloated Nuclear Weapons Budget
The final conference agreement on the FY 2012 Energy and Water bill keeps the goal to secure all vulnerable nuclear materials within four years on track and begins to responsibly scale back the nuclear weapons budget, writes Kingston Reif in this new analysis. - See more articles »
Non-Proliferation Funding Resource Center
Nuclear terrorism is one of the most serious threats to the security of the United States. The attacks of September 11, 2001 tragically demonstrated the reality of terrorism to the American people, but nearly six years later, serious efforts are still urgently needed to prevent a nuclear attack from occurring in the U.S.
Most experts agree that any nation would take an enormous risk in knowingly providing a nuclear weapon or nuclear materials to a terrorist organization because of the unpredictable consequences of cooperating with a renegade group. If a state-supplied nuclear weapon were ever used against a nuclear-armed state by terrorists, the resultant retaliation against the supplying state would be swift and massive.
If a state didn't knowingly provide a nuclear weapon, how then could terrorists get one?
One way would be to surreptitiously buy or steal an assembled nuclear weapon without the supplying nuclear state's official knowledge. For example, a terrorist group could obtain unaccounted "loose nukes" in Russia without the Duma or the Russian administration having any knowledge of the transaction.
A second way would be for terrorists to obtain enough weapons-grade material to assemble a weapon themselves. A possible source is Russia and the former Soviet Union, where sites with relatively minimal security provide abundant opportunities for terrorists. Assembling the device, however, would pose serious technical challenges to a terrorist group, although securing the services of a renegade nuclear scientist and setting up a makeshift laboratory are not impossibilities.
Efforts to reduce the threat of nuclear terrorism include programs such as Cooperative Threat Reduction, commonly known as Nunn-Lugar, aimed at securing and dismantling vulnerable nuclear materials in the former Soviet Union; Global Threat Reduction Initiative, directed at securing and eliminating global high-risk nuclear and radiological materials and equipment; and Materials Protection Control and Accounting Program, geared towards improving security and accounting for highly enriched uranium (HEU) in Russia and the former Soviet Union. While these programs have demonstrated substantial progress in reducing the threat, current estimates conclude that there are still approximately 1,700 tons of HEU and around 500 tons of separated plutonium stockpiled globally (SIPRI Yearbook 2007).
A comprehensive approach is needed to reduce the threat of nuclear terrorism. Top priorities should include:
- Securing existing nuclear weapons and materials
- Creating the position of "Nuclear Terrorism Czar" at the level of deputy national security advisor in order to coordinate nuclear nonproliferation efforts
- Disrupting terrorist finances
- Developing a contingency plan in case of attack
ARTICLES & FACT SHEETS
Jan 11, 2012 UNSCR 1540 & the 2012 Nuclear Security Summit
Jan 6, 2012 [Paper] Where Nuclear Safety and Security Meet
Nov 22, 2011 2012 Nuclear Security Summit: Opportunities and Challenges
Sep 28, 2011 2012 Nuclear Security Summit: The Korean Twist
Sep 19, 2011 Factsheet: 2011 UN General Assembly | Nuclear Safety-Security & Treaties
Sep 19, 2011 Factsheet: 2011 IAEA General Conference
Sep 7, 2011 [Op-Ed] Nature and Malice: Confronting multiple hazards to nuclear power infrastructure
Aug 8, 2011 [Op-Ed] Time to Think Nuclear Safety-Security
Jun 26, 2011 [Working Paper] 2012 Nuclear Security Summit: The Korean Twist
Apr 11, 2011 Nuclear Security Summit 1 Year Anniversary
Mar 18, 2011 [Op-Ed] Fukushima and the 2012 Seoul Nuclear Security Summit
Feb 7, 2010 Letter to Congress to support nuclear security funding in FY11 next CR
Sep 9, 2010 [Op-Ed] Advancing Obama's Goal to Secure Nuclear Materials in Four Years
Fact Sheet: 2010 Global Nuclear Security Summit
Apr 6, 2009 President Obama's April 2009 Prague Speech
Jul 15, 2009 Factsheet on the Fissile Material Cutoff Treaty (FMCT)
Nov 14, 2008 Understanding and Preventing Nuclear Terrorism
May 12, 2008 Nuclear Terrorism is a Likely Event
RESOURCES - FULL TEXTS
Sep 14, 2011 UN Study on the Implications of Fukushima (2011)
Apr 13, 2010 2010 Nuclear Security Summit Communique
Apr 13, 2010 2010 Nuclear Security Summit Work Plan
Apr 13, 2010 2010 Nuclear Security Summit National Commitments
Sep 29, 2009 Sep 24, 2009 UN Security Council Resolution 1887 (2009)
Sep 24, 2009 President Barack Obama's Remarks at the UNSC
Apr 6, 2009 President Barack Obama's 2009 Prague Speech
Apr 28, 2004 UN Security Council Resolution 1540 (2004)
Conference on the 2012 Nuclear Security Summit and Next Generation Nuclear Security
ADDITIONAL READING
- Michael Levi, On Nuclear Terrorism, (Washington, D.C.: Council on Foreign Relations and Harvard University Press, November 2007).
- Matthew Bunn, Securing the Bomb 2007, (Washington, D.C.: Project on Managing the Atom, Harvard University, and Nuclear Threat Initiative, September 2007).
- Ashton Carter, Michael May, and William Perry, "The Day After: Action Following a Nuclear Blast in a US City," The Washington Quarterly 30:4 (Autumn 2007), pp. 19-32.
- Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism: Joint Statement (U.S. Department of State, June 12, 2007).
- Government Accountability Office, "Nuclear Security: Steps to Better Track and Detect Radioactive Materials," June 19, 2008.