— Volume VIII (2012) —

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Nuclear Terrorism: Are We Prepared?

COMMENTS

CHDS Comment Policy

AUTHOR:
Al Mauroni
Al Mauroni is a senior policy analyst with the Air Force. A former Army officer, he has over twenty-five years experience in military chemical, biological, nuclear, and radiological (CBRN) defense policy and program development. He is a graduate of Carnegie-Mellon University and has a master’s of science in administration from Central Michigan University. He is the author of six books and more than two-dozen articles on the topic. His latest book is Where Are the WMDs? (Naval Press Institute, 2006). Mr. Mauroni can be contacted at mauronia@yahoo.com.

ABSTRACT:
There has been significant discussion regarding federal and state preparedness for nuclear terrorism within the United States. This is a very broad and complex public policy issue. The efforts of federal agencies provide a sense of the framework and capacity of the US government to prevent, protect, respond, and recover given the scenario of a terrorist group’s use of an improvised nuclear device. There are numerous federal programs supporting prevention and protection actions, with somewhat lesser development of response and recovery actions. However, it remains difficult to assess whether these actions are adequate or if more needs to be done, because the overall metrics for success have not been determined. A public policy approach to evaluating preparations for a nuclear terrorist event is required to allow decision makers to evaluate and better implement these efforts.

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SUGGESTED CITATION:
Mauroni, Al. “Nuclear Terrorism: Are We Prepared?.” Homeland Security Affairs 8, Article 9 (June 2012)
http://www.hsaj.org/?article=8.1.9