Classified nuclear threat reports warn that rogue countries and terrorists have learned it is possible to make atomic bombs using low-enriched uranium, a common fuel for nuclear reactors used to conduct research and generate power. The reports, described to USA TODAY by top federal officials, also conclude that it would be easier than previously believed for enemies of the United States to make such weapons using spent nuclear fuel, the waste generated by reactors.
The U.S. government has spent $230 million trying to build a Russian plant to destroy thousands of tons of deadly chemical munitions from the old Soviet arsenal. This month, unless Congress acts, the Pentagon will begin closing down the project without laying a single brick ? or eliminating a single weapon.
U.S. officials are trying to get Russia to release their bioweapon research on Anthrax, Ebola, and Marburg so they can create effective biodefenses. Russian reluctance to release the strains is causing concern in Washington over the security of the samples and also concern over whether Russia might still be engaged in clandestine biological warfare research.