Nuclear terrorism

Nuclear terrorism denotes the use, or threat of the use, of nuclear weapons or radiological weapons in acts of terrorism, including attacks against facilities where radioactive materials are present In legal terms, nuclear terrorism is an offense committed if a person unlawfully and intentionally “uses in any way radioactive material … with the intent to cause death or serious bodily injury”, according to International conventions

The terrorist organizations using nuclear weapons (especially very small ones, such as suitcase nukes) has been a threat in American rhetoric and culture.

Overview

Two of the main dangers associated with nuclear reactors are nuclear proliferation and nuclear terrorism. Terrorism involving nuclear weapons or radioactive materials could take a variety of forms. Terrorists could:

• Attack a nuclear reactor.
• Disrupt critical inputs (eg., water supply) for the safe running of a nuclear reactor.
• Steal nuclear fuel or waste.
• Acquire fissile material and fabricate a crude nuclear bomb.
• Acquire a ready-made nuclear weapon or take over a nuclear-armed submarine, plane or base.

Planned and attempted attacks

In June 2002, U.S. citizen Jose Padilla was arrested for allegedly planning a radiological attack on the city of Los Angeles; Padilla is currently (as of 2006) under military arrest as an "illegal combatant".

Recently, MI5 has warned that Islamic terrorists, specifically the al-Qaida were planning on using nuclear weapons against cities in the United Kingdom by obtaining the bombs via clandestine means.[1]

In June 2007 Fox News claimed that the FBI (U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation) released to the press the name of the operations leader for developing tactical plans for detonating nuclear bombs in several American cities simultaneously.

Executed radiological attacks

• Poisoning of Nikolai Khokhlov by radioactive thallium poisoning in Frankfurt in 1957 by KGB .
• Assassination of Alexander Litvinenko with radionuclide polonium-210 on November 1 2006

Suspected radiological attacks

• Death of Yuri Shchekochikhin on July 3, 2003 in Moscow

Recovering lost weapons & material

In August 2002, the United States launched a program to track and secure enriched uranium from 24 Soviet-style reactors in 16 countries, in order to reduce the risk of the materials falling into the hands of terrorists or "rogue states". The first such operation was Project Vinca, an operation in Serbia "to remove a quantity of highly enriched uranium, sufficient to produce 2-1/2 nuclear weapons from a research reactor near downtown Belgrade" [2].

In order to reduce the danger of attacks using nuclear waste material, European Union Commissioner Loyola de Palacio suggested in November 2002 the creation of common standards in the European Union, especially in the new member states operating Soviet-era reactors, for subterranean nuclear waste disposal.

Countries involved in nuclear threat

Some nations have been identified as a "nuclear threat" by countries like USA, China et al. based on the threat perception the nukes and its misuse they might have. Pakistan tops the list of nations whose possession of nuclear weapons poses a serious and grave risk to international security by proliferation to various countries including North Korea. According to a recent poll of 100 US foreign policy experts by the Centre for American Progress and the Carnegie Endowment, both in Washington, Pakistan poses today’s greatest nuclear threat to the world. Pakistan's nuclear chief A.Q. Khan had also sold nuclear secrets in the black market and is likely to pose a threat in the form of a dirty bomb attack.

Nuclear sabotage

The highest-ranking GRU defector Stanislav Lunev described alleged Soviet plans for using tactical nuclear weapons for sabotage against the United states in the event of war. He describe Soviet-made suitcase nukes identified as RA-115s (or RA-115-01s for submersible weapons) which weigh from fifty to sixty pounds. These portable bombs can last for many years if wired to an electric source. “In case there is a loss of power, there is a battery backup. If the battery runs low, the weapon has a transmitter that sends a coded message – either by satellite or directly to a GRU post at a Russian embassy or consulate.” .

Lunev was personally looking for hiding places for weapons caches in the Shenandoah Valley area. He said that "it is surprisingly easy to smuggle nuclear weapons into the US" ether across the Mexican border or using a small transport missile that can slip undetected when launched from a Russian airplane

The FBI has discredited Lunev, however, and has said that he exaggerates things. Searches of the areas identified by Lunev - who admits he could not "pinpoint" the alleged caches - have been conducted, "but law-enforcement officials have never found such weapons caches, with or without portable nuclear weapons."

External links

• What if the terrorists go nuclear?, Center for Defense Information
• Nuclear terrorism by Union of concerned scientists
• New Council on Foreign Relations report outlines ways to reduce the possibility of nuclear terrorism
• FBI Releases name of Operations Leader for Al Quaeda Nuclear Terror plot Against American Cities
• Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation
• Article about Nuclear Terrorism written by author William Lambers that appeared in the Miami Herald (FL) and the Charleston Sunday Gazette-Mail
• [http://www.crusade-media.com/news1.html Nuclear Terrorism - Crusade Media News
• Use of nuclear and radiological weapons by terrorists? Article in the International Review of the Red Cross
• Nuclear Files. org Information and articles relating to nuclear terrorism and its prevention
• Nuclear plant sabotage and terrorism Three Mile Island Alert identifies security incidents and issues
• "Can Terrorists Build Nuclear Weapons?" — article by five nuclear weapons scientists

References

• Large John H The Implications of 11 September for the Nuclear Industry, United Nations for Disarmament Research, Disarmament Forum, 2003 No 2, pp29-38

See Also

• Terrorism
• Weapons of mass destruction
• Brittle Power