Nuclear Weapons and Terrorism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Nuclear Weapons and Terrorism - Essay Example Although it may be the case that some terrorists (Or terrorist sympathizers) might be able to build an implosion assembly method (Using a plutonium core) or gun-type assembly method (Uranium tip) thermonuclear weapon from scratch, this approach would be unlikely. Firstly, it would be difficult to gather all of the raw nuclear materials and assemble them into a working weapon. Although it was postulated by Nuclear Control Institute (2011) that in theory terrorists could steal nuclear power plant fuel and convert that into a working nuclear weapon. However it is my belief that it is far more likely that the theft of completed nuclear weapon sub-components from various sources and then bring them together. The next major issue for consideration is the idea that a completed nuclear weapon could be stolen by terrorist groups. Although it may be the case that nations with nuclear weapons state that they have strict controls over the storage and transport it is the case that the Internation al Atomic Energy Commission only places physical security standards on international shipments of nuclear materials and not the internal transportation of these weapons. As such one could postulate that there may exist inadequate protection of several nations nuclear weapon arsenals.