Could terrorists really obtain a nuclear weapon, and be able to use it?

Question

I know a lot are still unaccounted for after the collapse of the USSR, but surely if they had them, they would have used them by now?

could they get one?

would they know how to use it?

could they get it into a place like New York or London considering all the security to stop them?

Answer 1

I dunno pardner.  Are there nations out there who would wish us harm?  Are there any Nukes unaccounted for?  My answer would be yes indeed and I'm sure that most governments that don't adhere to whatever it is the hostile governments or organizations want would be viable targets.  If it scares the h**l out of me what do you think it does to the intelligence agencies and Homeland Security?  Does Iran have nukes, Pakistan, India, China, North Korea?  As far as getting them into a particular country?  Sure he can if he tries hard enough.  Does the US have a really secure border, either of them?  The southern border is quite obviously, even to a blind man, a sieve.  Could a back pack nuke come across undetected?  Why shucks you decide.  Would they know how to use it?  Ever hear that money can buy anything?  In some cases it is quite true.  Not every citizen is driven by patriotic ideals.  Sure they could very well have the operator's manual that goes along with the device.  Money buys most of what you want.  Security to stop them?  The agressor has the advantage over the defender as he has to only come up with one plan that could work and the defender has to defend against scores or hundreds, even thousands of possibilities.  You answer this one pardner, answer seems plain to me.  Good luck to you.

Answer 2

They may have them already, following the collapse of the Soviet Union 84 Atomic Demolition Munitions are missing and believed to have been sold by Russian Army officers who had not been paid for months.

Terrorists may or may not know how to use them, but the knowledge to do so is free of charge courtesy of the internet, or any nuclear physics textbook that you care to pick up. Even without the knowledge to operate the bomb they have, it is no complicated matter to remove the fissile material, obtain a few other items available anywhere and build a working bomb. Even I know how to do this, so some of these guys probably will too. Anybody who thinks terrorists wouldnt have the know-how to make a working nuclear bomb I would point out that the technology and skills needed are far less than that needed to make Sarin nerve gas, and a group of insane Japanese religious cultists managed to do that 13 years ago and gas a subway system

As for the security issue, it would be a doddle for them to get it into any major city, and if they got caught doing so it would probably be more luck than judgement, the security is nowhere near as good as you think

Answer 3

How?

In  movie in pictures?

Why not?

The actor always get back to work the next day.

At the same time at the same place.

In the real world.

With self lack of knowledge?

At your own risk too?

Will one mess around with it?

What if it slip?

How fast one can make a quick run for it?

Not forgetting the loved one waiting for one to come home?

All for cheap-skate glory of the dead Mummy?

When one is the living and not the dead yet?

In kicking the butts of God in not worshiping God?

Luke 6.39-40,41-45,46-49

What do you think?

Answer 4

They could.

Nuclear devices which would be big enough to take down a major citys administrative, financial and commericial heart, plus hundreds of thousands of people could be small enough to fit in a suitcase, and relatively simple to assemble.

When you consider the amount of illegal drugs which get into the U.S and the UK every day it would be relatively simple to get the components in and assemble it in situ.

Most of the components however could easily be shipped as part of the billions of tons of industrial imports every year.

They don't look like a bomb or have "bomb" written on them!

The hard bit about any nuclear explosion is the trigger and that is highly specialised. Simply wrapping a ton of semtex around the plutonium and setting it off does not produce a nuclear explosion, but would of course send a load of radiation into the air and kill a lot of people for years to come.

I wouldnt expect a mushroom cloud anytime soon, but a dirty bomb which could collapse our society by taking out Wall Street or the City of London is a clear and present danger I would guess.    

    

Answer 5

There are already twelve pieces of equipment missing from NHS hospitals, that if assembled could make a dirty bomb. And we've allowed muslims access to hospitals, utilities including gas supply pipes, and reservoirs. Just what will make Politicians wake up to this threat from within?

Answer 6

Sure, it's possible. When the Soviet Union collapsed, it was reported several nuclear devices were lost. These have still not be found. It's highly likely that these are on the black market, whereby terrorist could obtain them. Fortunately, these devices are highly technical, sophisticated and delicate items. It would take much skill and knowledge to be able to handle them, let along set one off, something which I don't believe any terrorist organisation currently has.

Answer 7

The U.S. military is so focused on Iraq that if they managed to create a nuclear weapon we would know about it and go into lock-down

Answer 8

yes they could, but hopefully they have the sense to realise that they would kill many thousands of muslims to if they let one off!

Answer 9

The Iranians are h**l bent on building a nuke device, no doubt when they have succeeded in producing enough enriched plutonium, some of this will find it's way into the hands of the most murderous terrorists.

You don't actually need a nuclear weapon to cause mayhem in a city.  A dirty bomb will do.  This is a bomb using ordinary explosives but with plutonium wrapped around the TNT or whatever.

Such a dirty bomb would probably make the centre of a city like London, uninhabitable for at least 100,000 years - frightening or what?

So, you can see why there's pressure being put upon Iran, especially since it has threatened to wipe Israel of the map.

Oh yeah!

Answer 10

yes to all four

Answer 11

Sadly with the funding and knowledge they could put together a small but devastating "dirty bomb". Parts from stolen hospital equipment and a small amount of explosive to detonate it.