The enduring imperative of nuclear security (Chinese Edition)

For more than a generation, the fear that terrorists could acquire and use a nuclear weapon has motivated a range of efforts by the Member States, in cooperation with the IAEA, to place nuclear materials beyond the reach of non-State actors. Little imagination is required to envision the disastrous consequences that would occur should these efforts fail. Since the start of the new century, terrorist groups have committed acts of unspeakable barbarity in New York City, Madrid, London, Paris, Brussels, Bali, and throughout the Middle East and Africa. ISIS' use of chemical weapons in Syria and Iraq suggests it would commit violence on an even more horrifying scale if it could, and other terrorist groups have expressed the desire to obtain more destructive weapons, including nuclear capabilities. Unfortunately, this prospect is far from abstract. Al-Qaeda was thought to have pursued nuclear weapons in the 1990s, and, since that period, weapons-usable nuclear material has been interdicted outside of regulatory control in roughly two dozen actions. Although constructing a nuclear device would require significant resources and advanced scientific and engineering skills, we cannot assume that these obstacles will hinder terrorists indefinitely. The only sure way to guarantee these malevolent actors never obtain the world's most powerful weapons is to prevent their acquisition of nuclear material.