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Securing Our Shores From Nuclear Terror
A Nuclear Security Study Group Forum with Stephen Flynn and Allen Thompson
May 29, 2007
To keep nuclear terrorism from America's shores we must do all we can to secure loose nuclear material across the globe That was the conclusion of a panel of experts speaking at a meeting of the Center for National Policy’s Nuclear Security Study Group on Tuesday at Capitol Hill. Council on Foreign Relations Jeanne J. Kirkpatrick Senior Fellow for National Security Stephen Flynn and Allen Thompson, Vice President of Global Supply Chain Policy at the Retail Industry Leaders Association, advised that homeland security policy should seek smart, not blanket, port security solutions.
If that is the goal, we have a long way to go. The current screening technology used to detect radiological material in shipping containers, Thompson argued, cannot detect nuclear material when used alone. Lead shielding can often mask the radiological signature given off by nuclear material. The inability of screeners to distinguish between radiation from highly enriched uranium and innocuously radioactive materials like kitty litter and porcelain, Thompson noted, means that “one in twenty five containers that go through a radiation monitor result in a false alarm.” These false positives create unnecessary costs for industry and contribute nothing to security.
Flynn advocated combining existing port security technologies to detect nuclear material, rather than seeking quick fix solutions. Shielded nuclear material may not show up in a radiological screening. But by shielding nuclear material, a would-be terrorist creates a “dense object,” which can be detected through imaging technology. Using these technologies in tandem, according to Flynn, has the added benefit of reducing false positives.
But the best defense is a layered defense. Preventing nuclear terror at America’s ports, Thompson reminded the audience, begins with preemption at the source. “If you don’t have a nuclear weapon, you don’t have a nuclear terrorist,” Thompson said, quoting former nonproliferation expert and former Senator Sam Nunn. Programs like Nunn’s Cooperative Threat Reduction and others are among the best nonproliferation tools in America’s arsenal, but receive little funding compared to other defense and security expenditures. To make a comprehensive assault against nuclear terrorism, Thompson recommended investing more in programs that deny potential terrorists the building blocks of mass destruction.
Flynn pointed to the persistent traffic in contraband to illustrate that there is little reason to suspect nuclear material would remain an exception to the trend. “We continue to have multi-ton shipments of narcotics; we continue to have export control violations; we have migrants who come in boxes; we have guns that move around in boxes; we have had every form of contraband known to man come into this country.” This vulnerability, he emphasized, requires that America enhance the resilience of its critical infrastructure to cope with the aftermath of a prevention failure.
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