The Partnership for a Secure America, a bipartisan group of government and foreign policy veterans, will start airing a television commercial in major cities to raise awareness about the threat of nuclear terrorism (see NTI report). The purpose is to pressure candidates to take more seriously the need to secure loose nuclear material, technologies and scientists, a priority for the NTI and the broader international global partnership. Some analysts claim that the threat is small as the difficulties of obtaining the materials and the technology to achieve an explosion are still beyond the capabilities of terrorist groups. Even if this were true, the consequences are so significant we cannot afford to be complacent.
BASIC will be releasing a report later this month on the progress made under the Global Partnership over half way through its 10-year life, and concludes that while significant achievements can be celebrated, a significant threat still remains with tragic consequences. Given the cost of closing the file is very small compared to the defense budgets of participating nations, a renewed commitment is required.