Nuclear terrorism
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'''Nuclear terrorism''' denotes the use, or threat of the use, of [[nuclear weapon]]s or [[radiological weapon]]s in acts of [[terrorism]], including
attacks against facilities where radioactive materials are present.<ref name="Bellona">
[http://www.bellona.org/articles/polonium Radiological Terrorism: “Soft Killers”] by Morten Bremer Mærli, [[Bellona Foundation]] </ref> 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 on terrorism|International conventions]].<ref name="treaty">
[http://untreaty.un.org/English/Terrorism/English_18_15.pdf International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism]</ref>
The notion of terrorist organizations using nuclear weapons (especially very small ones, such as [[suitcase nuke]]s) 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.<ref>[http://energyscience.org.au/FS10%20Nuclear%20Terrorism.pdf Nuclear terrorism]</ref>
==Planned and attempted attacks==
In June 2002, U.S. citizen [[José Padilla (alleged terrorist)|Jose Padilla]] was arrested for allegedly planning a radiological attack on the city of [[Chicago]]; however, he was never charged with such conduct. He was instead convicted of charges that he conspired to "murder, kidnap and maim" people overseas.
In November 2006, [[MI5]] 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.[http://politics.guardian.co.uk/terrorism/story/0,,1947295,00.html]
In June 2007 Fox News claimed that the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]] released to the press the name of the operations leader for developing tactical plans for detonating nuclear bombs in several American cities simultaneously as [[Adnan Gulshair el Shukrijumah]].
==Radiological assassinations==
*Poisoning of [[Nikolai Khokhlov]] by radioactive [[thallium]] poisoning in Frankfurt in [[1957]] by [[KGB]] <ref>[http://2004.novayagazeta.ru/nomer/2004/46n/n46n-s10.shtml Meeting with past (Russian)] </ref>.
*[[Alexander Litvinenko poisoning|Assassination of Alexander Litvinenko]] with [[radionuclide]] [[polonium-210]] on [[November 1]] [[2006]] <ref> "Ushering in the era of nuclear terrorism", by Patterson, Andrew J. MD, PhD, ''Critical Care Medicine'', v. 35, p.953-954, 2007.</ref> <ref>"Beyond the Dirty Bomb: Re-thinking Radiological Terror", by James M. Acton; M. Brooke Rogers; Peter D. Zimmerman, ''Survival'', Volume 49, Issue 3 September 2007, pages 151 - 168 </ref><ref>"The Litvinenko File: The Life and Death of a Russian Spy", by Martin Sixsmith, True Crime, 2007 ISBN 0-312-37668-5, page 14. </ref> <ref name="Bellona"/>
*Death of [[Yuri Shchekochikhin]] on July 3, [[2003]] in Moscow <ref name="dissident"> [[Alexander Goldfarb (author)|Alex Goldfarb]] and Marina Litvinenko. "[[Death of a dissident|Death of a Dissident: The Poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko and the Return of the KGB.]]" Free Press, New York, 2007. ISBN 978-1416551652. </ref> <ref name="Halloran">[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/file_on_4/6324241.stm ''Russia's poisoning 'without a poison' '' – Julian O'Halloran, BBC Radio 4, 6 February 2007].Retrieved on [[2007-07-30]].</ref> (suspected)
==Recovering lost weapons & material==
In August 2002, the United States launched a program to track and secure [[enriched uranium]] from 24 [[Soviet Union|Soviet]]-style reactors in 16 countries, in order to reduce the risk of the materials falling into the hands of terrorists or "[[rogue state]]s". 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]]" [http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2002/12962.htm].
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.<ref>[http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article2368174.ece How the West summoned up a nuclear nightmare in Pakistan] [[September 2]], [[2007]] [[The Sunday Times ]]</ref> 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.
==Allegations of preparations to 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 described 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.” <ref name="Lunev">[[Stanislav Lunev]]. ''Through the Eyes of the Enemy: The Autobiography of Stanislav Lunev'', Regnery Publishing, Inc., 1998. ISBN 0-89526-390-4.</ref>.
Lunev was personally looking for hiding places for weapons caches in the [[Shenandoah Valley]] area. <ref name="Lunev"/> 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 <ref name="Lunev"/> US Congressman [[Curt Weldon]] supported claims by Lunev, but "Weldon said later the FBI discredited Lunev, saying that he exaggerated things." <ref>Nicholas Horrock, [http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/Top_News/2001/12/20/fbi_focusing_on_portable_nuke_threat/9007/ "FBI focusing on portable nuke threat"], ''UPI'' (20 December 2001).</ref> Searches of the areas identified by Lunev - who admits he never planted any weapons in the US - have been conducted, "but law-enforcement officials have never found such weapons caches, with or without portable nuclear weapons."<ref> Steve Goldstein and Chris Mondics, "Some Weldon-backed allegations unconfirmed; Among them: A plot to crash planes into a reactor, and missing suitcase-size Soviet atomic weapons." ''Philadelphia Inquirer'' (15 March 2006) A7.</ref>
==Allegations of privately owned nuclear weapons==
According to high-ranking Russian [[Foreign Intelligence Service (Russia)|SVR]] defector [[Sergei Tretyakov (intelligence officer)|Tretyakov]], he had a meeting with two Russian businessman representing a state-created ''Chetek'' corporation in 1991. They came up with a fantastic project of destroying large quantities of chemical wastes collected from Western countries at the island of [[Novaya Zemlya]] (a test place for Soviet nuclear weapons) using an underground nuclear blast. The project was rejected by Canadian representatives, but one of the businessmen told Tretiakov that he keeps his own nuclear bomb at his [[dacha]] outside [[Moscow]]. Tretiakov thought that man was insane, but the "businessmen" (Vladimir K. Dmitriev) replied: "Do not be so naive. With economic conditions the way they are in Russia today, anyone with enough money can buy a nuclear bomb. It's no big deal really" <ref name="Comrade J">Pete Earley, "Comrade J: The Untold Secrets of Russia's Master Spy in America After the End of the Cold War", Penguin Books, 2007, ISBN-13 978-0-399-15439-3, pages 114-121.</ref>.
==Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings==
The [[Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki]] are considered to be acts of nuclear terrorism (specifically, nuclear [[state terrorism]]) by some groups.[http://www.asiamedia.ucla.edu/article.asp?parentid=26610][http://www.commondreams.org/views04/0805-03.htm][http://www.fff.org/comment/com0408b.asp][http://www.tamilnation.org/humanrights/hiroshima.htm]
==See also==
* [[Terrorism]]
* [[Weapons of mass destruction]]
* [[Brittle Power]]
* [[List of crimes involving radioactive substances]]
* [[Nuclear espionage]]
* [[Nuclear 9/11]]
== References ==
{{reflist}}
== External links ==
*[http://www.largeassociates.com/terrorismUNDisarmament.pdf Large John H The Implications of 11 September for the Nuclear Industry, United Nations for Disarmament Research, Disarmament Forum, 2003 No 2, pp29-38]
* [http://www.crusade-media.com/news110.html - Nuclear Jihad May 2008 - Crusade Media News
* [http://www.crusade-media.com/news114.html - The Strategic Threat of Nuclear Terrorism June 2008 - Crusade Media News
*[http://www.cdi.org/terrorism/nuclear.cfm What if the terrorists go nuclear?], [[Center for Defense Information]]
*[http://www.ucsusa.org/global_security/nuclear_terrorism/ Nuclear terrorism] by [[Union of concerned scientists]]
*[http://www.cfr.org/publication/10067/ New Council on Foreign Relations report outlines ways to reduce the possibility of nuclear terrorism]
* [[Adnan Gulshair El Shukrijumah|FBI Releases name of Operations Leader for Al Quaeda Nuclear Terror plot Against American Cities]]
*[http://www.armscontrolcenter.org/terrorism/ Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation]
*[http://www.lamberspublications.com/reduce_arms_article.html 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]
*[http://www.icrc.org/Web/Eng/siteeng0.nsf/iwpList488/724C739ABEEF129A412570F900548184 Use of nuclear and radiological weapons by terrorists? Article in the International Review of the Red Cross ]
*[http://www.nuclearfiles.org/menu/key-issues/nuclear-weapons/issues/terrorism/index.htm Nuclear Files. org] Information and articles relating to nuclear terrorism and its prevention
*[http://www.tmia.com/security/ Nuclear plant sabotage and terrorism] Three Mile Island Alert identifies security incidents and issues
*[http://www.nci.org/k-m/makeab.htm "Can Terrorists Build Nuclear Weapons?"] — article by five nuclear weapons scientists
*[http://www.upi.com/International_Security/Emerging_Threats/Briefing/2008/01/04/nuclear_terrorism_top_fear_survey_says/2342/ Nuclear terrorism top fear, survey says]
*[http://alsos.wlu.edu/qsearch.aspx?browse=issues/Terrorism Annotated bibliography on nuclear terrorism from the Alsos Digital Library for Nuclear Issues]
*[http://www.nti.org/h_learnmore/nuctutorial/index.html] Online Nuclear Terrorism Tutorial
[[Category:Nuclear weapons]]
[[Category:Nuclear terrorism]]
[[es:Terrorismo nuclear]]
[[fr:Terrorisme nucléaire]]
[[lt:Branduolinis terorizmas]]
[[ja:核テロリズム]]
[[sl:Jedrski terorizem]]