Defending America: Redefining the Conceptual Borders of Homeland Defense: Terrorism, Asymmetric Warfare and Nuclear Weapons, Final Draft

• NCJ Number: 190334
• Author(s): Anthony H. Cordesman
• Date Published: February 2001
• Length: 41 pages
• Corporate Author: Ctr for Strategic and International Studies
• Sale Source: Ctr for Strategic and International Studies
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Legislation/Policy Analysis
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Downloaded September 19, 2001

Annotation

This document discusses nuclear and radiological weapons as means of attack.

Abstract

A number of countries other than the United States are conducting nuclear weapons research efforts, have carried out enough nuclear research to deploy weapons relatively quickly, or could build a nuclear weapon if they could find a source of fissile materials. As a result of this effort, homeland defense must deal with the cumulative probability of nuclear attack over at least a 25-year period. There are many uncertainties associated with the employment of nuclear weapons in covert, proxy, or terrorist/extremist attacks on the United States. Two key questions shaping the nuclear threat are whether state actors could obtain such weapons and would take the risk of using them covertly or giving them to a proxy, and whether terrorists could obtain such weapons or obtain the fissile material they need to make such weapons. The basic design features and technology needed for nuclear weapons are well understood. Production of fissile material is probably impossible for most terrorist and extremist movements. It is hard to make specific recommendations about how to respond to nuclear attacks because the needed planning and technical assessments have not yet been performed. Radiological weapons that employ conventional explosives or other means to scatter radioactive material are another important means of attack. Unlike nuclear weapons, they spread radioactive material contaminating personnel, equipment, facilities, and terrain. This material acts as a toxic chemical to which exposure eventually proves harmful or fatal. The effectiveness of these weapons is controversial, but the likelihood of use by terrorists is higher than with nuclear weapons. The material could be spread by “dirty bombs” designed to spread radioactive material through passive (aerosol) or active (explosive) means. Additional study is needed of the different effects and risks of radiological weapons. 3 tables, 2 charts