Nuclear Terrorism

By: Max van Diepen

9/11 was the first major terrorist attack in the world in the 21st century. Since then, attacks in certain countries have increased, unlike in other countries, in which the attacks have decreased. Now, terrorists have gone one more step, the step to nuclear terrorism and nuclear bombs. Nuclear terrorism is the next biggest threat to us as a result of unstable governments, insufficient government enforcement, and the devastating possible effects.

Terrorists have their own ways to gain access to nuclear material. For instance when a government is unstable and can collapse in a very short time, like the governments in Pakistan or in North Korea. Pakistan tested nuclear weapons in 1998 and since then has steadily expanded their nuclear arsenals and missile and aircraft delivery systems. (Cortright). Pakistan is struggling with large and small terrorist groups inside its boarders, and if the government collapses, anyone of these groups could seize power, and therefore also the nuclear arsenal. North Korea is another major problem. North Korean bomb significantly adds to that danger. Nuclear weapons are now in the hands of a fanatical and heavily militarized regime. (Cortright). Once the nuclear material and/or bombs are in the hands of the terrorists, they will start bombing. (See appendix for more information.)

Possible effects of such a bomb could be devastating, depending on a couple of factors. This is also probably why terrorist are planning to use nuclear weapons next. Although the dispersal of radioactive material and radiation from the bomb will not be effective at killing people, it could cause huge public response and disrupt the economy and living conditions in the area contaminated. (Patel). This does not seem harmful, but later in the process things start to change. The winds carry the radioactive particles around the area where the bomb was detonated, and then around the country. When it rains, the particles will get washed into fertile soil where crops are growing, into the sewer systems contaminating our homes, and into rivers that lead to the oceans. The terrorists have another advantage. Now they destroy our buildings themselves, but with a nuclear bomb in their power, they can force us to do this ourselves. They can threaten us that they will detonate a dirty bomb in one of our cities, if we do not do what they say. Although all of this is possible, there is some good news. There is a 10-40 % chance that terrorists will conduct a successful attack with a crude dirty bomb in the next 5-10 years (Patel). This is also how our governments want to keep it for the future: a small likelihood of a nuclear bomb ever going off. (See appendix for more information.)

Our governments have been combating terror for a long time, but now the next step has to be taken, which it partially has. It is a fact that friendly nations share information, and hostile nations keep secrets. Secret agents are one example of how governments get the information needed. They watch chat rooms, MySpace, Facebook pages, blogs, Twitter and e-mail. (Bedel). Another example is satellites. They offer a safe and unnoticed way of gathering information about hostile nations. Another advantage is that these satellites can see what spies cannot or hardly see. They can show the movement of soldiers, guns, machinery, planes, missiles, and ships. They can also detect if underground tunnels and/or rooms are being dug. Experts can then examine the pictures and determine if a certain country is expanding its nuclear program. Now, the governments have to take it to a next level, which they have. The Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism (GICNT) is an international partnership of 83 nations and 4 official observers working to improve capacity on a national and international level for prevention, detection, and response to a nuclear terrorist event. (Bunn). (See appendix for more information)

Although the likelihood of a nuclear bomb/dirty bomb detonating is not extremely large, we should not deny it. Terrorists have gone one more step in terrorizing the world, and nuclear material is accessible to them. Nuclear terrorism is the next biggest threat to us because governments of some countries are unstable, the possible effects are devastating, and other governments are not doing a lot about it. At the GICNT conferences that are being held annually new measures are being taken to try and stop the accessibility of nuclear material to terrorists, but this will not be enough to stop terrorists. Our governments have to assist countries having trouble with terrorist groups, unstable governments and nuclear material to come back on the right path to counter the next biggest threat to us. Nuclear Terrorism.

Appendix
Paragraph 2) This graph shows the safety of the nuclear weapon-grade material in each country. 100 is the most favorable security conditions. Britain is the best ranked out of all countries with nuclear weapons. Countries with nuclear weapons tend to have a lower score, because they have a large ammount of nuclear material stored in many locations.

Paragraph 3) Weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) are designed to kill in large numbers. There are four main types of WMDs: biological, chemical, nuclear and radiological. An example of a nuclear WMD is a nuclear bomb, like the ones dropped at Hiroshima and Nagasaki. A Biological WMD is Anthrax. Anthrax is a bacterium that enters the body through the lungs, skin, or mouth and starts to attack the body. It causes severe illness or death, and will spread easily. Sarin gas is an example of a chemical WMD and was originally made to kill insects. One single large doses can cause seizures and death. In small doses however, it can cause twitches. A dirty bomb is an example of a radiological weapon. A radiological weapon is different from a nuclear weapon, because a radiological weapon is designed to spread radioactivity, not to kill people. (Paragraph 4) A lot of nations are trying to stop the spread of both normal/regular weapons (tanks, machine guns, anti-aircraft missile, assault rifles are some examples), and weapons of mass destruction (Biological, Chemical, Radiological, and Nuclear are all examples). These weapons can move from buyer to buyer very quickly, until terrorists get their hands on them. Tracking these weapons is hard because the sales happen quickly, and the weapons, more often than not, get moved across international and national borders.

(Overall) Low enriched uranium is used to make dirty bombs, and high enriched uranium is used to make nuclear bombs like the ones dropped at Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Biography

1. Bedel, J.M. Combating Terrorism. Mankato: Compass Point Books, 2010. 2. Bunn, George. Enforcing International Standards: Protecting Nuclear Materials From Terrorists Post-9/11. Arms Control Association 3. Cortright, David. "The New Nuclear Danger." America. 11 Dec. 2006: 18. eLibrary. Web. 16 May. 2012. 4. Patel, Gordhan. Dirty Bomb. JP labs. 5/22/2012 <http://www.jplabs.com/html/dirty_bomb.HTM>.