Department of Defense Authorization for Appropriations for Fiscal Year 2012 and the Future Years Defense Program: Part 5, Emerging Threats and Capabilities

Book excerpt: President Obama has embarked on a three-pronged effort to reduce the spread of nuclear weapons, nuclear materials, and nuclear technology. As the President said in the Nuclear Posture Review, "The threat of global nuclear war has become remote, but the risk of nuclear attack has increased." The most immediate and extreme threat today is nuclear terrorism. Today we will discuss the efforts at DOD and DOE to thwart the goals of these potential nuclear terrorists and reduce the chances that a nuclear or radiological device is detonated in a U.S. city or anywhere else.