The threat of nuclear attack is still a danger to world security, according to a group of researchers at Harvard University. The most recent issue of an annual report - "Securing the Bomb," released by the Managing the Atom project at the John F. Kennedy School of Government - warned that nuclear materials kept around the world lack adequate security.
Matthew Bunn, a senior research associate for the project, said a "main motivation" of the project is that nuclear materials falling into the hands of terrorists "remains a very real possibility." Bunn is the author of the 2007 report, which was released in September.
In the report, Bunn dictates a step-by-step action plan to reduce the threat of nuclear attack. The first step is having "someone in charge" of nuclear security, which contrasts with the dozens of existing United States government programs that try to solve the same problem, he said. With solid leadership established, a global campaign must follow, Bunn said.
Second, the United States needs to take "every opportunity" to integrate the whole world into the projects, "until the job is done," he added.
This leads to Bunn's proposed third step, to "build global standards for how well these materials are secured." Bunn said the world is "only as strong as its weakest link" and therefore every precaution must be taken to help countries with weak security standards. Martin Malin, executive director of the project, singled out Russia and Pakistan as nations that should focus on security standards.
The fourth step is to redouble efforts to sustain these developments over time, Bunn said. The fifth and final step of this plan is to move in a "broader and rapid fashion to remove materials," he said.
The Managing the Atom project's goal is to provide policy makers with "recommendations based on solid scientific research, without a political agenda," Malin said. The decade-old Managing the Atom project has been issuing its annual report "Securing the Bomb" since 2004.
The report aims to find "what we, the U.S., and the rest of the world as well, need to do to secure and account for all nuclear materials," Malin said.
According to Malin, one of the main problems with nuclear materials is security - vital to the task of keeping nuclear material out of the hands of terrorists. Though many countries hold nuclear materials that are not necessarily intended for military purposes, proper security measures must be put in place to keep these potentially harmful materials secure, Malin said.
Malin said the project aims to get rid of nuclear materials in the long run, but added, "in the process, we want to be careful not to neglect security." Therefore, he added, the program seeks to "investigate prospects for safe, secure and cheap nuclear energy" as well.
