Will Terrorists Go Nuclear?

Jenkins (director, National Transportation Security Center, Mineta Transportation Institute) reviews the arguments and evidence concerning the threat of nuclear terrorism. He does not come to any definitive conclusions, but suggests that for many of the arguments that a terrorist nuclear attack is inevitable, the dots just don't connect. Indeed, he warns that, in effect, Al Qaeda is already a nuclear power simply by virtue of the fear that they could acquire a nuclear capability, which is unfortunately encouraged in many government and media circles. He also stresses that terrorist groups operate with self-constraints and that terrorism is political theater and not simply an irrational will to kill. Annotation c2008 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Brian Michael Jenkins (Los Angeles, CA), one of the world’s leading authorities on terrorism, is a senior advisor to the president of the RAND Corporation, director of the National Transportation Security Center of the Mineta Transportation Institute, and a member of the board of Commercial Crime Services of the International Chamber of Commerce. He is frequently quoted in the media, including Time, Newsweek, US News & World Report, the New York Times, Washington Post, and other publications.