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Home » Subject Resources

WMD Terrorism

  • UN Security Council Resolution 1540 At a Glance
    Fact Sheets & Briefs
    September 28, 2011

    October 2012
  • The Low Politics of Nonproliferation
    Arms Control Today
    April 4, 2011

    Zia Mian reviews Fallout, Catherine Collins and Douglas Frantz’s account of how the CIA recruited the Tinner family as agents inside the Abdul Qadeer Khan network. In addition to adding detail to previous accounts of the Khan network, the book shows how the CIA sought to protect its dominant position in internal U.S. policy debates on Khan’s nuclear smuggling operation and shielded the Tinners from criminal prosecution.
  • Don’t Skimp on Funding to Prevent Nuclear Terrorism
    Issue Briefs
    March 2, 2011

    Volume 2, Issue 3

    There is an overwhelming, bipartisan consensus among America’s leaders that nuclear terrorism is one of the most dangerous threats facing the United States and the world today. Unfortunately, the new leadership of the House of Representatives has lumped federal programs designed to prevent this danger in with the rest of its targets for budget cuts, proposing to slash their funding by over 20 percent.  This is a big mistake, and the Senate and the White House should work aggressively to ensure that these cuts are not turned into law.
  • Making the Nuclear Security Summit Matter: An Agenda for Action
    Arms Control Today
    January 20, 2010

    The April nuclear security summit that President Barack Obama will host in Washington will be an unprecedented event. More than 40 heads of state from the developed and developing world will gather to discuss the need to prevent nuclear terrorism and secure all vulnerable nuclear materials in four years. This four-year pledge—a cornerstone of the Obama administration’s nuclear security policy—must be achieved.
  • Joseph Cirincione on The Colbert Report
    Arms Control TV
    November 30, 2009

    Joseph Cirincione of the Ploughshares Fund, a major ACA funder, appeared on the news-parody show The Colbert Report in November 2009. He attempted to convince Stephen to take nuclear terrorism seriously.
  • WMD Commission Issues Findings
    Arms Control Today
    January 16, 2009

    On Dec. 3, a congressionally mandated commission released a report offering 15 recommendations to help the U.S. government improve its ability to prevent and respond to threats of biological and nuclear terrorism. Drawing even more attention and criticism than the recommendations, however, was the commission's prediction that terrorists were likely to carry out an attack with biological or nuclear weapons somewhere in the world within the next five years. (Continue)
  • ElBaradei Warns of Nuclear Trafficking Threat
    Arms Control Today
    November 4, 2008

    In an Oct. 27 statement to the UN General Assembly, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director-General Mohamed ElBaradei warned that the potential that terrorists could acquire nuclear and radiological material “remains a grave threat.” He noted that incidents involving the theft or loss of such material “is disturbingly high.” (Continue)
  • U.S. Issues Broad Threat to WMD Accomplices
    Arms Control Today
    August 7, 2008

    Serious consequences await those that aid terrorists in acquiring or using unconventional weapons under a new policy that national security adviser Stephen Hadley has broadcast. The Bush administration, however, is not clarifying whether the punishment could include U.S. nuclear weapons use, an ambiguity that suits some experts but troubles others. (Continue)
  • Panel Formed on WMD, Terrorism
    Arms Control Today
    June 10, 2008

    Congressional leaders recently announced the formation of the Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism, appointing nine commissioners on May 16.

    The commission is the result of legislation Congress passed last year to fully implement the recommendations of the independent commission that investigated the September 11 terrorist attacks. (See ACT, March 2007.) The commission will be responsible for assessing programs intended to secure all nuclear weapons-usable material, evaluating the roles and structure of relevant government departments and other actors, promoting coordination between the United States and international regimes, and analyzing the threat posed by black market networks and the effectiveness of the U.S. response. (Continue)
  • UN Renews Committee on WMD
    Arms Control Today
    June 9, 2008

    The UN Security Council April 25 adopted Resolution 1810 extending for an additional three years a council committee tasked with monitoring, facilitating, and promoting national efforts to prevent other states and terrorists from acquiring nuclear, chemical, or biological weapons. Resolution 1810 also provides for potentially enhancing the role of the committee in providing assistance to states to carry out their obligations not to contribute to illicit trafficking in weapons of mass destruction (WMD), related materials, and delivery systems. (Continue)