Can Terrorists Build a Nuclear Bomb?

kjh1 writes "Popular Science is just chock full of good articles this month. One in-depth article addresses the question many are afraid to acknowledge is a possibility - can terrorists acquire the raw materials and then deliver a nuclear bomb? A good read that explains the difficulty in doing all of the above, while pointing out calmly that it is still possible." From the article: "Most experts with whom I spoke said that a nuclear terror attack is plausible but not inevitable, and that there's no way to precisely gauge the odds. 'I don't think the public ought to lose a lot of sleep over the issue,' says nuclear physicist Tom Cochran of the Natural Resources Defense Council. "

Comments

Nut Job States (Iran)

[wheelbarrow]

There is a blurring line between 'terrorists' and the countries run by lunatics who actively enable terrorists. The most likely short term scenario is that Iran will provide the infrastructure and financing necessary to build an atomic weapon and use it in the next 20 years. Iran may not hand it over to terrorists to use, but they will use it to accomplish goals they share with today's terrorists. Those goals are the establishment or protection of nation states built on criminal implementations of fundamental Islam and the destruction of the jewish state of Israel.

Another Possibility

[Winkhorst]

A much more practical possibility is that a current or future nuclear power would see an advantage in giving a group of terrorists a nuclear bomb, either because thay sympathized with their cause or, on the contrary, because they saw an advantage to having a much scarier enemy to hang their power hungry hats on. I could certainly see the current reactionary Israeli administration doing this to maintain their grip on power, and I could even see old George W, the man who "won the trifecta" when the WTC was hit, trying to maintain his own grip on power by nuclear-arming his favorite non-Christian boogie men.

And now, a message from our sponsors

[Stiletto]

US Media to citizens:

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"We in the US media wish to shield you from this world. We bring you only news stories from your own country, unless the story furthers the goal of making you even more freightened. Besides, who wants any real news about other countries? They don't even have NASCAR in those strange lands! Do you really care about what happens in a place without NASCAR, unless they are IMMINENTLY ready to attack! Like SHARKS, and ASBESTOS, and POWER LINES!!! News at 11!!!!!!"

Can they build nukes?

[generalleoff]

If they are for you they are patriots. If they are aganst you they are terrorists.

So can they make nukes? All depends on what part of the world you live in and what side of the coin you picked.

Or is this question based on the stereotypical version of the word terrorist?

War is peace.

[ZehFernando]

Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength. You know the drill.

Re:Asking the wrong questions...

[leuk_he]

You forget that a mushroom cloud with all it's heat and thunder is a very appealing image for a terrorist. They don't care about contries, their only faith is to allah.

The most effective way to combat terrorism is to stop people from being afraid,

How would you like to do that? By not telling people what is happening in the world?

The question isn't whether they can build a bomb..

[leereyno]

The question is what the ultimate result would be for terrorists who used a bomb to attack us. The answer of course is the utter and complete annihiliation of them and anyone who we even suspected might have had anything to do with it.

If the lefties and the peace-niks think that the US is being mean now (poor Saddam..sob,sob), they have no idea of the things we are capable of doing given sufficient provocation. If some terrorists attacked us using an atomic device and we even had a hunch that a particular country was giving them aid and sanctuary, that country would cease to exist. We are the only nation to ever use atomic weapons in anger, and by God we'll do it again if necessary. The good news is that we don't even need to use our own nukes. We've got enough conventional firepower at our disposal to turn a country the size of California into a huge smoldering crater.

Lee