nuclear-news

Nuclear terrorism danger

Consider the domestic and international panic that could ensue if rebel factions, terrorists, government insiders or looters in civil war got control of nuclear weapons or their feedstock, or strike at a nuclear reactor to release radioactive contents

Syria as dress rehearsal: Securing WMD in midst of civil war Reuters, By Bennett Ramberg OCTOBER 19, 2012 As Syria’s civil war spirals into mounting violence, the Assad regime’s chemical weapons stockpile is generating increased anxiety throughout the Middle East and beyond.  Taking precautionary measures, the United States has reportedly placed 150 “planners and other specialists” in Jordan to work on contingencies — including the chemical weapons threat……
Consider the domestic and international panic that could ensue if rebel factions, terrorists, government insiders or looters in civil war got control of nuclear weapons or their feedstock, or strike at a nuclear reactor to release radioactive contents.  Yet this is what we
could indeed face if any one of three relatively unstable countries
with nuclear infrastructures–Pakistan, North Korea or Iran– were to
suffer the violent political disintegration we see in Syria today.
Equally disturbing — the international community does not have a
reliable plan to cope.

Pakistan stands out as the country of greatest concern.  First, its
nuclear arsenal is sizable.  Islamabad stores more than 100 weapons,
fed by several reactors and enrichment plants. The country also has a
small but growing nuclear power sector.

But what makes Pakistan particularly dicey is that its dysfunctional
government is confronting persistent terrorist violence — including
attacks on military installations believed to house nuclear weapons
components.  The unrest prompted Pakistan’s Army Chief of Staff Ashlaq
Kayani to say in August that the country could face civil war…..
http://blogs.reuters.com/great-debate/2012/10/19/syria-as-dress-rehearsal-securing-wmd-in-midst-of-civil-war/

October 20, 2012 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | general