DIRTY BOMBS
July 2007
"Reducing Nuclear and Radiological Terrorism Threats"
Conference Paper
By Matthew Bunn, Associate Professor of Public Policy; Co-Principal Investigator, Project on Managing the Atom; Co-Principal Investigator, Energy Research, Development, Demonstration, and Deployment (ERD3) Policy Project and Tom Bielefeld, Research Fellow, Project on Managing the Atom
Urgent actions are needed to prevent a nuclear or radiological 9/11. Terrorists are actively seeking nuclear weapons and Radiological Dispersal Devices (RDDs) and the materials to make them. There are scores of sites where the essential ingredients of nuclear weapons exist, in dozens of countries worldwide. There are thousands of sites worldwide where radiological materials exist. Many of these sites are not sufficiently secured to defeat the kinds of threats that terrorists and criminals have demonstrated they can pose. A dangerous gap remains between the urgency of the threat of nuclear and radiological terrorism and the scope and pace of the U.S. and world response. While the gap has narrowed significantly in recent years, much more needs to be done. This paper describes the nuclear and radiological terrorism threats, analyzes the actions taken so far to address these threats, and recommends further actions going forward.
June 12, 2007
After the Bomb
Op-Ed, New York Times
By Dr. Ashton B. Carter, Co-Director, Preventive Defense Project (on leave), Harvard & Stanford Universities, Dr. William J. Perry, Former Co-Director, Preventive Defense Project and Dr. Michael M. May
Ashton B. Carter, William J. Perry, and Michael May call on the United States government to formulate contingency plans that may save thousands of lives and billions of dollars, prevent panic and promote recovery should a nuclear weapon go off in an American city.
May 31, 2007
The Day After: Action in the 24 Hours Following a Nuclear Blast in an American City
Report
By Dr. Ashton B. Carter, Co-Director, Preventive Defense Project (on leave), Harvard & Stanford Universities, Dr. William J. Perry, Former Co-Director, Preventive Defense Project and Dr. Michael M. May
The Preventive Defense Project convened a workshop of leading federal government civilian and military officials, scientists, policy experts, and journalists in Washington, D.C. to address "The Day After: Action in the 24 Hours Following a Nuclear Blast in an American City."
Gretchen Bartlett, PDP Associate Director
April 19, 2007
PDP Hosts WMD Workshop on the Day After a Nuclear Attack
Press Release
Co-Directors Ashton B. Carter and William J. Perry hosted the latest in a series of WMD-related workshops, entitled "The Day After: Action in the 24 Hours Following a Nuclear Blast in a U.S. City." The off-the-record workshop, held at the Mayflower Hotel, focused on identifying and defining a critical set of actions to be taken now (or prepared now for action on the Day After) to help the U.S. and the international community at-large respond to, and recover from, a nuclear attack on a U.S. city.
April 2007
How to Counter WMD
Book Chapter
By Dr. Ashton B. Carter, Co-Director, Preventive Defense Project (on leave), Harvard & Stanford Universities
Ashton B. Carter contributes a chapter to McGraw-Hill's new volume on Weapons of Mass Destruction and Terrorism.
Spring 2007
"Security and Damage Potential of Commercial Radioactive Sources"
Journal Article, Journal of Nuclear Materials Management, issue 3, volume 35
By Tom Bielefeld, Research Fellow, Project on Managing the Atom and Helmut W. Fischer
MTA/ISP fellow Tom Bielefeld and his co-author Helmut Fischer focus on the problem of protecting radiological sources, preventing a “dirty bomb” attack, and putting measures in place to mitigate the effects should an attack occur.
March 2007
"Decontamination and Remediation after a Dirty Bomb Attack"
Journal Article, Nonproliferation Review, issue 1, volume 14
By Jennifer C. Bulkeley, Former Research Fellow, International Security Program, 2008-2009; Former Research Assistant, Preventive Defense Project, 2007-2009
Article in The Nonproliferation Review
January 11, 2007
Belfer Center's Kayyem to Head New Homeland Security Post in Massachusetts
Press Release
October 4, 2006
Matthew Bunn Wins the 2007 American Physical Society's Joseph A. Burton Forum Award
Press Release
September/October 2006
Churchill, Not Quite
Journal Article, National Interest
By Graham Allison, Director, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs; Douglas Dillon Professor of Government; Faculty Chair, Dubai Initiative, Harvard Kennedy School
PRESIDENT BUSH has identified the nexus of terrorism and nuclear weapons as "the single largest threat to American national security." Indeed, he has said that the United States is currently engaged in World War III and put a bust of Winston Churchill in his office. The question he should ask himself is: What would Churchill do facing a grave threat to his society and way of life? How closely do the president's actions mirror his model? An American Churchill confronting a threat of such monumental proportions would make defeating this challenge the organizing principle of U.S. foreign policy.
