President Obama said Friday that terrorists have been unable to make a dirty bomb because of the global focus on securing nuclear material, but stressed to the 50 world leaders in Washington for his last nuclear security summit that they must remain vigilant.
“[B]y working together, our nations have made it harder for terrorists to get their hands on nuclear material,” Obama told attendees. “Fortunately, because of our coordinated efforts, no terrorist group has succeeded thus far in obtaining a nuclear weapon or a dirty bomb made of radioactive materials.”
“We have measurably reduced the risk. But … the threat of nuclear terrorism persists and continues to evolve,” he added. “[W]e know that al Qaeda has long sought nuclear materials. Individuals involved in the attacks in Paris and Brussels videotaped a senior manager who works at a Belgian nuclear facility. ISIL has already used chemical weapons, including mustard gas, in Syria and Iraq.”
“There is no doubt that if these madmen ever got their hands on a nuclear bomb or nuclear material they most certainly would use it to kill as many innocent people as possible,” Obama said.
Obama said nations must ensure their nuclear material is fully secure. To that end, the administration provided attendees with a “gift basket” full of tips on best practices, training, International Atomic Energy Agency resources and ways to mitigate the insider threats.
“The single most effective defense against nuclear terrorism is fully securing this material so it doesn’t fall into the wrong hands in the first place,” Obama said, noting that globally 2,000 tons of nuclear material is improperly secured.
“And just the smallest amount of plutonium … could kill and injure hundreds of thousands of innocent people,” he said. “It would be a humanitarian, political, economic and environmental catastrophe with global ramifications for decades. It would change our world.”
