Study: Nuclear stockpiles vulnerable (How Much For That Nukie In The Window.. The One With The ..)

WASHINGTON -- U.S. efforts to help Russia and other nations secure and destroy poorly protected nuclear material and warheads are moving too slowly to address the threat that those stockpiles could be tapped by terrorists or hostile states, a new study says.

In Russia, about 37% of ''potentially vulnerable'' nuclear material has gotten U.S.-funded security upgrades, such as new alarm systems, fences and surveillance equipment, the study says. It also notes that many civilian reactors using weapons-usable fuel in former Soviet states and developing countries are ''dangerously insecure.''

The study, done by Harvard University researchers, contends that President Bush (news - web sites) has not fulfilled a promise that keeping weapons of mass destruction from terrorists would be his ''highest priority.''

''There remains an enormous gap between the seriousness and urgency of the threat, and the scope and pace of the U.S. and the international response,'' it says.

Total spending on U.S. programs to control the spread of nuclear, biological and chemical weapons is about $1 billion a year, roughly one-third of 1% of the defense budget.

The study is among the most comprehensive independent reviews of U.S. programs to curb the spread of nuclear material and warheads. It says the Bush administration and its global allies must do more if they are to keep terrorist groups from getting nuclear arms.

A senior administration official says Bush has worked hard to secure vulnerable stocks of nuclear weapons and materials, requesting more money than his predecessors.

The study, Controlling Nuclear Warheads and Materials, was funded by the Nuclear Threat Initiative, a non-profit organization headed by former Democratic senator Sam Nunn of Georgia. Ten years ago, Nunn and Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind., chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, helped create the first program to secure weapons of mass destruction in the former Soviet Union.

Lugar says the study is a reminder that Congress and Bush must renew support for such programs.

The report's recommendations include setting up a high-level office to coordinate various agencies' programs to curb the spread of nuclear, biological and chemical weapons. The report also urged that top administration officials build more political support for existing programs and push for funding of new initiatives.

Matthew Bunn, a Harvard physicist and co-author of the study, said Russia has caught suspected terrorists casing storage sites in the past year. Given the threat, progress in securing vulnerable material ''remains painfully slow.''

And Pootin was giving US heartburn at the Unethical Nations?

Russia: Nuclear bomb bargain capital of the world.

Absolutely. Any just government of assigned powers, that governs with the consent of sovereign people, that has the authority to possess large weapons derives that authority from that inherent in the rights of individuals. But as a practical matter not too many individuals have the wealth or real estate to safely keep and bear such arms. Anyone so rich who chose to probably could do so regardless of any restrictions if they wanted to assume the risks. Any authority big enough to police such arsenals is also big enough to enslave those it protects. Life is fraught with risks, most of the tangible and significant ones are far more mundane.

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