Stopping a nuclear nightmare
What's to be done?
First, all governments with plutonium and highly enriched uranium must secure these supplies so that they cannot be stolen by, seized by, or diverted to terrorists. Second, no more bomb material should be produced, and excess stocks should be destroyed. Third, highly enriched uranium used in nuclear reactors worldwide must be carefully monitored, so that no nation (read Iran) can, under the false flag of a peaceful power, even come close to having a bomb. Fourth, we must make sure that any rogue states with nuclear ambitions are stopped in their tracks.
Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham has launched a Global Threat Reduction Initiative that is designed to remove potential bomb material entirely from the world's most vulnerable sites, and to do it rapidly. Congress must give him the financial support and the authority to bring this about and appoint a full-time senior official to lead the efforts to stop nuclear terrorism at the source.
The nuclear arms race has been transformed from a race between the superpowers to a race between terrorists seeking weapons of mass destruction and a civilized world scrambling to stop them. It is a race we simply can't afford to lose.
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