Nuclear Power and Proliferation
März 10, 2010 Nuclear (Non)proliferation, civilian nuclear program No CommentsBusy travel schedule, so only a short up-date: NTI reports that both Israel and Syria announced plans for civilian uses of nuclear energy.
The Carnegie Endowment has a map on “Global Reactor Capabilities” with three scenarios. Click here to view it.
I bought Michael Neufeld’s biography of Wernher von Braun – the first couple of pages promise an interesting read. The next biography waiting on the shelve is Oppenheimer’s.
UPDATE: David Albright of ISIS has published a book on the illicit nuclear trade (“Peddling Peril: How the Secret Nuclear Trade Arms America’s Enemies”):
With the global spread of technology and rapid growth in international trade, smugglers find it easier to ply their dangerous trade. It’s simpler now to obtain the materials, equipment, and know-how to produce nuclear weapons than it was ten years ago, and could be simpler still ten years from now… Over the next several years, many states in dangerous regions of the world, along with terrorist organizations, are expected to pursue nuclear weapons. Governments’ ability to detect and stop this perilous trade remains limited. Too often, major successes in thwarting nuclear proliferation have depended on the last line of defense—military attacks, intelligence operations, and cargo seizures. As important as these measures are, it is risky to depend on the last line of defense for our security. A former CIA official who was instrumental in busting the Khan network worries, “Can we count on intelligence when we need it again?” Finding new ways to thwart these efforts is critical.”
I am also looking forward to Matthew Kroenig’s book “Exporting the Bomb”.
