Five Minutes Past Midnight: The Clear and Present Danger of Nuclear Weapons Useable Fissile Materials.
Abstract
The growing stockpiles of nuclear weapons grade fissile materials (plutonium and highly enriched uranium), much of which is uncontrolled and unsecured in the former Soviet Union, is a "clear and present danger" to international society. Given the widespread availability of the materials and technology for bomb making, the ever increasing amounts of fissile materials is highly susceptible to theft or diversion to a clandestine nuclear weapons program. Material control, accounting and physical security of these materials in the FSU is nonexistent and there are few viable solutions to the growing stockpiles of plutonium. Strategies to convince likely proliferators will be unsuccessful unless larger security concerns are addressed. On going efforts to address this problem are examined and a number of proposals are offered to strengthen and enhance the nonproliferation regime. With the US taking the lead, continuous and simultaneous exercise of a number of cooperative measures will slow and eventually reverse the availability of these materials for illicit purposes. There is no "silver bullet" and the regime is not foolproof, but time and commonality of purpose will change the motivations of proliferators to eventually end this proliferation risk.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 26, 1995
- Accession Number
- ADA296305
Entities
People
- Guy B. Roberts
Organizations
- Naval War College