Product Description

Nuclear terrorism is such a disturbing prospect that we shy away from its details. Yet as a consequence, we fail to understand how best to defeat it. Michael Levi takes us inside nuclear terrorism and behind the decisions a terrorist leader would be faced with in pursuing a nuclear plot. Along the way, Levi identifies the many obstacles, large and small, that such a terrorist scheme might encounter, allowing him to discover a host of ways that any plan might be foiled.

Surveying the broad universe of plots and defenses, this accessible account shows how a wide-ranging defense that integrates the tools of weapon and materials security, law enforcement, intelligence, border controls, diplomacy, and the military can multiply, intensify, and compound the possibility that nuclear terrorists will fail. Levi draws from our long experience with terrorism and cautions us not to focus solely on the most harrowing yet most improbable threats. Nuclear terrorism shares much in common with other terrorist threats--and as a result, he argues, defeating it is impossible unless we put our entire counterterrorism and homeland security house in order.

As long as we live in a nuclear age, no defense can completely eliminate nuclear terrorism. But this book reminds us that the right strategy can minimize the risks and shows us how to do it.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #822803 in Books
• Published on: 2009-05-15
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 224 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780674032385
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

Review
"We wish that the current and incoming national security advisor and secretaries of State, Defense and Homeland Security read Michael Levi's On Nuclear Terrorism." -- Los Angeles Times, January 1, 2008

Michael Levi presents a strong case.... Unique insights into how terrorist groups work [and] important specific recommendations to address these dangers--the most critical security issue facing our nation and the world." -- Senator Sam Nunn, former Chairman, Senate Armed Services Committee [Advance Review]

On Nuclear Terrorism should have the widest possible readership. -- The Times (London), December 23, 2007

This is serious stuff. If you want to know how a terrorist organization might manage to mount a nuclear attack--or how to stop them--you need to read this book. -- Thomas Schelling, Nobel Laureate and Author, The Strategy of Conflict [Advance Review]

Thoroughly researched, thoughtfully argued, and well written, On Nuclear Terrorism examines the most important security problem the world faces today. -- William J. Perry, Former Secretary of Defense [Advance Review]

Review
This book offers the best insights for a coordinated defense system against nuclear terrorism I have seen, as well as a perceptive survey of the opportunities and difficulties nuclear terrorists would face. Well written and carefully researched, it is a must for every counterterrorism planner as well as for any interested citizen.
--Michael M. May, former Director, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, and Professor Emeritus, Stanford University (20080410)

Michael Levi shows that defending against nuclear terrorism requires confronting every aspect of a terrorist's plot. Thoroughly researched, thoughtfully argued, and well written, On Nuclear Terrorism examines the most important security problem the world faces today.
--William Perry, former Secretary of Defense and Professor, Stanford University (20080901)

This is serious stuff. If you want to know how a terrorist organization might manage to mount a nuclear attack--or how to stop them--you need to read this book.
--Thomas C. Schelling, 2005 Nobel Laureate in Economics (20080601)

Levi's is the most comprehensive, up-to-date, and technically informed treatment of nuclear terrorism. This important book makes a big contribution to public understanding and to public policy on nuclear terrorism, which might yet--despite the daunting odds--prevent it from ever happening.
--Ashton B. Carter, former Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Policy and Professor, Harvard University (20080901)

In this comprehensive and accessible book, Levi effectively challenges many popular assertions about how easy it would be for terrorists to fabricate and deliver a nuclear weapon. He then outlines an integrated defense strategy from prevention to detection to mitigation. This should become the basic reference for nuclear terrorism. Recommended for anyone interested in the topic. Mandatory for policymakers.
--Brian M. Jenkins, Senior Advisor, RAND Corporation (20080601)

Michael Levi presents a strong case for why we need to do everything we can to keep the world's most dangerous weapons and materials out of the hands of the world's most dangerous people. He focuses on the broad range of today's nuclear threats and provides unique insights into how terrorist groups work. He also makes important specific recommendations to address these dangers--the most critical security issue facing our nation and the world.
--Sam Nunn, Former U.S. Senator and Co-Chairman of the Nuclear Threat Initiative

The prevention of nuclear terrorism cannot be guaranteed, and so it is essential to prepare for the gruesome consequences of such an attack. Effective consequence management will require participation of an informed public, and for that reason alone, On Nuclear Terrorism should have the widest possible readership.
--Paul Cornish (Times Higher Education Supplement )

We wish...that the current and incoming national security advisor and secretaries of State, Defense and Homeland Security [would] read Michael Levi's On Nuclear Terrorism and make it a top priority to ensure that everything that can be done to foil a nuclear attack by terrorists is being done. (Los Angeles Times )

Anyone who reads [Levi's] work cannot but be impressed by his deep understanding of nuclear terrorism and the possibilities of dealing with it...It is one of Levi's strong points that, from beginning to end, he does not engage in any kind of mystery-solving or moralizing. What he does provide is a step-by-step account of the many possibilities of using nuclear bombs and materials for terrorist ends and of at least some of the things that can be done to prevent those possibilities from being realized...For anyone with a serious interest in the possibilities of nuclear terrorism and how to prevent it, On Nuclear Terrorism is a must.
--Martin van Creveld (Nature )

An excellent and challenging book on the problem of nuclear terrorism that is being read and debated in all corners of the WMD community...This book is a must read for anyone involved in the problem of protecting our nation from nuclear terrorism.
--R. E. Henstrand (Joint Force Quarterly )

Levi offers a system of thought on how to deal with the threat of nuclear terrorism that is probably the most complete and thoughtful published to date. In grasping a vast and complex topic and making sense of it in the light of a lucid and comprehensible framework, On Nuclear Terrorism is a paramount contribution to the effort to understand and minimize the threat of nuclear terrorism.
--Simen A. Ellingsen (Nonproliferation Review )

An excellent and challenging book on the problem of nuclear terrorism that is being read and debated in all corners of the WMD community...This book is a must read for anyone involved in the problem of protecting our nation from nuclear terrorism.
--R. E. Henstrand (Joint Force Quarterly )

Levi offers a system of thought on how to deal with the threat of nuclear terrorism that is probably the most complete and thoughtful published to date. In grasping a vast and complex topic and making sense of it in the light of a lucid and comprehensible framework, On Nuclear Terrorism is a paramount contribution to the effort to understand and minimize the threat of nuclear terrorism.
--Simen A. Ellingsen (Nonproliferation Review )

About the Author
Michael Levi is David M. Rubenstein Senior Fellow for Energy and the Environment at the Council on Foreign Relations, New York.

Customer Reviews

A Unique Perspective on The Problem of Nuclear Terrorism
Michael Levi offers a unique perspective on the fear that drives the American psyche and political process these days-----nuclear weapons in the hands of a terrorist. While many experts exploit that fear to support expensive programs to counter nuclear terrorism, Levi takes an analytical perspective which describes in detail the series of difficult challenges which terrorists must overcome in order to accomplish the ultimate nightmare. His perspective as a physicist provides technological information not often found in policy pundits' consideration of this critical national and international security issue. Levi presents such technical information in a readable, but sophisticated form which enlightens those who seek to know more about the types of nuclear materials and weapons that a terrorist might seek. Additional technical information about detection and characterization technologies is also incorporated into this highly informative study. Casual readers will also benefit from Levi's unique approach-----looking at nuclear terrorism through the eyes of a terrorist planner. His message is a realistic, but hopeful one-----that nuclear terrorism is not inevitable, particularly if policy makers allocate resources to the obstacles that could make the ultimate nightmare only a figment of the imagination. Very Highly Recommended

First Class Analysis
This book sets forth what a finite band of non-supermen would have to do to mount an attack of nuclear terrorism. From this, it derives a systematic approach to making such an effort more difficult. The bottom line is that we can't make such an attack impossible, but most likely we can make it hard enough that they will try something else. After all, they have trade-offs, too. For example, the more skills they assemble, the harder it is to keep the operation secret. Not the final word, but a first class beginning, and a major contribution to the debate over the level of effort that should be expended to ward off a nuclear attack as opposed to other forms of terrorism.

LAME RE-HASHING OF OTHER ACADEMICS' LAME WORK
The author discredits himself in the very first pages by relating a network news 'sting' operation whereby depleted uranium bypassed the portal monitors in several countries undiscovered. This is not surprising, fissile material portal monitors aren't designed to pick up the gamma rays from depleted uranium, they aren't that strong, unlike gamma signatures of enriched uranium, which have a pronounced peak at the 186 kilo-electron volt range. So, what was the point?

Also, the author only discusses nuclear terrorism in the context of a subnational group obtaining a nuclear warhead. That is not very plausible, but a Tom Clancy fantasy which in fact Clancy used as the plot in one of his books.

Really the nuclear terrorism threat comes from a subnational group sabotaging a nuclear power reactor in their enemy's country, and/or sabotaging the spent fuel storage area, and/or sabotaging a spent fuel reprocessing plant.

These nuclear terrorism scenarios are not even hinted at in this book, yet is highly plausible given the November 2007 breakin at South Africa's nuclear reactor, and November 2009 apparent deliberate contamination event at an Indian nuclear plant...

And while the author may be highly knowledgable of the academic aspects of nuclear terrorism, there is much better info on-line (check out the General Accounting Office doing a topic search for 'nuclear' and Project on Govt. Oversight doing a word search for 'design basis threat').