“As I wrote in my last column, there is a general conviction among many experts – though, in fairness, not all – that nuclear terrorism has a better-than-even chance of occurring in the next 10 years. Such an attack could kill 500,000 people.
Yet U.S. politicians have utterly failed to face up to the danger.” — Nicholas Kristof (New York Times op-ed)
Kristof suggests four things we should be doing about this:
- secure fissionable nuclear materials around the world
- a serious commitment to nonproliferation. With regard to North Korea and Iran, where the danger is greatest and where it mihgt be too late, extreme concessions are necessary to bribe them into giving up their nuclear aspirations
- vigorous and targeted ‘homeland security’ measures to prevent the smuggling of nuclear weapons or their components into the US
- “Finally, Mr. Bush needs to display moral clarity about nuclear weapons, making them a focus of international opprobrium. Unfortunately, Mr. Bush is pursuing a new generation of nuclear bunker-buster bombs. That approach helps make nukes thinkable, and even a coveted status symbol, and makes us more vulnerable.”
