Preventing an attack

A terrorist attack using a weapon of mass destruction is likely to occur somewhere in the world before the end of 2013, unless concerted and urgent international actions are taken, a congressionally chartered commission has warned. Although a bioterror attack is more likely than one involving a nuclear explosive, the Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism said in its 2 December report that the nuclear threat continues to increase as North Korea and Iran gain nuclear weapons capabilities. In addition to recommending reinvigoration of the nonproliferation agenda, the bipartisan commission, chaired by former senators Bob Graham (D-FL) and Jim Talent (R-MO), called for a “radical revamp” of US policy toward Pakistan, which it described as “the crossroads of proliferation and terrorism.” The US must use diplomatic, military, and economic means to work with Pakistan and other governments in the region to eliminate terrorist safe havens, it said.

Among the commission’s recommendations are the establishment of an international nuclear fuel bank to supply reactor fuel to, and take back spent fuel from, nations that pledge to not acquire their own fuel production capacity, and the provision of additional authorities and more funding for the International Atomic Energy Agency. And, in what panel member Henry Sokolski of the Nonproliferation Policy Education Center described as “a radical recommendation,” the commission said that US subsidies for the promotion of nuclear power in other nations should be discouraged.

The commission’s report is available at http://www.preventwmd.gov .