The authors, two former U.S. Secretaries of Defense, argue that the U.S. needs prompt global strike capability to provide maximum flexibility for dealing with the threat of global terrorism. They wrote the article in support of a Pentagon proposal to replace the nuclear warheads on two of the Trident D5 missiles on every deployed strategic submarine with a new type of warhead incorporating four highly accurate, independently targetable, nonnuclear reentry bodies.
The Pentagon has drafted a revised doctrine for the use of nuclear weapons that envisions commanders requesting presidential approval to use them to preempt an attack by a nation or a terrorist group using weapons of mass destruction. The draft also includes the option of using nuclear arms to destroy known enemy stockpiles of nuclear, biological or chemical weapons.
Iran could acquire a nuclear bomb in the next one to four years and would become more willing to aid terrorist groups once it has an atomic capability, according to a study by the Non-proliferation Policy Education Center.
Advances in nanotechnology, genetics and nuclear isomers are permitting the production of a new generation of weapons intended to maintain future US military superiority and deter "rogue states" and terrorists.
Russian and US experts meet this month to assess terror tactics, from hacking into systems to seizing a weapon.
The French newspaper Liberation has reported that France is preparing to change its nuclear weapons doctrine to include the possible use of first strikes against rogue states.
Al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups are currently capable of conducting attacks with different types of weapons of mass destruction, according to an internal CIA report.
A real-time tracking system developed years ago for the Defense Department is emerging as a crucial component of an industry-driven cargo security network that aims to prevent terrorists from smuggling weapons of mass destruction into major ports.
There is little chance that terrorists could cause enough damage to a U.S. nuclear power plant or spent-fuel shipment to pose a threat to public health, according to a panel of 19 nuclear experts.
The authors propose the development of a virtual border security program that would protect the U.S. from terroist use of the intermodal transportation system to attack the homeland.