"An updated global nuclear inventory, published by ISIS on Wednesday, reveals that there were 1830 tonnes of plutonium in 35 countries at the end of 2003. That is enough to make 225,000 nuclear bombs.
"The total amount of plutonium, which is created in nuclear reactors, is increasing by 70 tonnes per year, the report says. Most of it is combined with radioactive waste in spent fuel, and is hence relatively difficult to access."
2 comments:
Turn lemons into lemon-aid. Use the nukes to power an Orion type space craft, or as I like to call them, bomb wagons.
The only terrorist act that even approaches the technical sophistication required to CONSTRUCT a nuke from scratch is 9/11, and strong evidence indicates that the terrorists in this case acted with at least the complicity of the U.S. government. After two decades of trying, neither Iraq nor Iran managed to build even one fission bomb and we're worried that terrorists without a state apparatus and financing are going somehow to cobble one together out of stolen plutonium? (Simply HANDLING the stuff presents major challenges even with sophisticated equipment of a kind that, say, Al Qaida is highly unlikely to possess.)
However, do I think we don't have to worry about terrorists with nukes? Au contraire. I think a terrorist-detonated nuke is probably THE major threat to Western (not just American) security in the near future. So consider this. Why would a terrorist group want to steal plutonium and build a bomb from scratch WHEN THEY CAN EASILY AND READILY OBTAIN A READY-MADE ONE ON THE BLACK MARKET?? Think Russian tactical nuclear warheads of the type used in artillery shells -- compact, easy to hide and transport. Sure, the explosive power is "limited" to the approximately 10-20 kiloton range but if one of these babies were to be detonated in downtown New York it would make the death and damage from 9/11 look like child's play. In the process, it would also give the Bush administration the excuse it needs -- if it even needs one -- to institute a fascist dictatorship in this country that will mean the end of the American republic. I don't mean to sound alarmist, but there's a lot more at stake in thinking clearly about this threat than just the immediate damage and death toll.