2414 (Purpose: To provide $5,000,000 for a program at the Naval Medical Research Center (NMRC) to treat victims of radiation exposure (PE0604771N) At the. Of the military campaign against the Taliban regime and the al-Qaeda terrorist network in Afghanistan, Pakistan has taken additional steps to secure its nuclear.

The vulnerability of nuclear plants to deliberate attack is of concern in the area of., civilian research reactors, certain naval fuel facilities, plants, fuel fabrication plants, and even potentially uranium mines are vulnerable to attacks which could lead to widespread. The attack threat is of several general types: commando-like ground-based attacks on equipment which if disabled could lead to a reactor or widespread dispersal of radioactivity; and external attacks such as an aircraft crash into a reactor complex, or cyber attacks.

The United States 9/11 Commission has said that nuclear power plants were potential targets originally considered for the attacks. If terrorist groups could sufficiently damage safety systems to cause a at a nuclear power plant, and/or sufficiently damage pools, such an attack could lead to widespread radioactive contamination. The have said that if nuclear power use is to expand significantly, nuclear facilities will have to be made extremely safe from attacks that could release massive quantities of radioactivity into the community. New reactor designs have features of, which may help.

In the United States, the NRC carries out 'Force on Force' exercises at all nuclear power plant sites at least once every three years. Become preferred targets during and, over the past three decades, have been repeatedly attacked during military air strikes, occupations, invasions and campaigns. Various acts of since 1980 by the peace group have shown how nuclear weapons facilities can be penetrated, and the group's actions represent extraordinary breaches of security at plants in the United States.

The has acknowledged the seriousness of the 2012 Plowshares action. Policy experts have questioned 'the use of private contractors to provide security at facilities that manufacture and store the government's most dangerous military material'. Materials on the are a global concern, and there is concern about the possible detonation of a by a in a major city. The number and sophistication of cyber attacks is on the rise. Is a discovered in June 2010 that is believed to have been created by the and to attack Iran's nuclear facilities. It switched off safety devices, causing centrifuges to spin out of control. The computers of 's nuclear plant operator () were hacked in December 2014.

The cyber attacks involved thousands of emails containing malicious code, and information was stolen. Contents • • • • • • • • • • • • Attacks on nuclear installations [ ] Terrorists could target in an attempt to release into the community. The United States 9/11 Commission has said that nuclear power plants were potential targets originally considered for the attacks. If terrorist groups could sufficiently damage safety systems to cause a at a nuclear power plant, and/or sufficiently damage spent fuel pools, such an attack could lead to a widespread radioactive contamination. According to a 2004 report by the U.S., 'The human, environmental, and economic costs from a successful attack on a nuclear power plant that results in the release of substantial quantities of radioactive material to the environment could be great.' An attack on a reactor’s could also be serious, as these pools are less protected than the reactor core.

The release of radioactivity could lead to thousands of near-term deaths and greater numbers of long-term fatalities. If nuclear power use is to expand significantly, nuclear facilities will have to be made extremely safe from attacks that could release massive quantities of radioactivity into the community. New reactor designs have features of, such as the flooding of the reactor core without active intervention by reactor operators. But these safety measures have generally been developed and studied with respect to accidents, not to the deliberate reactor attack by a terrorist group. However, the US does now also require new reactor license applications to consider security during the design stage. In the United States, the NRC carries out 'Force on Force' (FOF) exercises at all Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) sites at least once every three years. The FOF exercise, which is typically conducted over 3 weeks, 'includes both tabletop drills and exercises that simulate combat between a mock adversary force and the licensee’s security force.

At an NPP, the adversary force attempts to reach and simulate damage to key safety systems and components, defined as 'target sets' that protect the reactor’s core or the spent fuel pool, which could potentially cause a radioactive release to the environment. The licensee’s security force, in turn, interposes itself to prevent the adversaries from reaching target sets and thus causing such a release'. In the U.S., plants are surrounded by a double row of tall fences which are electronically monitored. The plant grounds are patrolled by a sizeable force of armed guards. In 2009, a paper published in 's journal alleged that 's nuclear sites had been attacked by al-Qaeda and the Taliban at least three times. However, the then Director General said the claims were 'factually incorrect', adding that the sites were 'military facilities, not nuclear installations'. In January 2010, it was revealed that the US army was training a specialised unit 'to seal off and snatch back' Pakistani nuclear weapons in the event that militants would obtain a nuclear device or materials that could make one.

Pakistan supposedly possesses about 80 nuclear warheads. US officials refused to speak on the record about the American safety plans. Military attacks [ ] become preferred targets during and, over the past three decades, have been repeatedly attacked during military air strikes, occupations, invasions and campaigns: • On 25 March 1973, before its completion, the in Argentina was temporarily captured by the who stole a and three.45 caliber handguns. When they retired they had a confrontation with the police, injuring two police officers. • In September 1980, Iran bombed the nuclear complex in Iraq, in, which was a surprise IRIAF () carried out on 30 September 1980, that damaged an almost complete 17 km south-east of,.

• In June 1981, an Israeli air strike completely destroyed Iraq's nuclear research facility. • Between 1984 and 1987, Iraq bombed Iran's six times. • In 1991, the U.S. Bombed three nuclear reactors and an enrichment pilot facility in Iraq. • In 1991, Iraq launched Scud missiles at Israel's.

• In September 2007, Israel bombed a under construction. Nuclear terrorism [ ].

Main article: says that the United States has for decades been running on energy that is 'brittle' (easily shattered by accident or malice) and that this poses a grave and growing threat to national security, life, and liberty. Lovins' claims that these vulnerabilities are increasingly being exploited. His book documents many significant assaults on energy facilities, other than during a war, in forty countries and within the United States, in some twenty-four states.

Lovins further claims that in 1966, twenty fuel rods were stolen from the in England, and in 1971, five more were stolen at the. In 1971, an intruder wounded a night watchman at the reactor in the USA.

The reactor building was broken into in 1972, as was the 's fuel storage building in 1973. In 1975, the plutonium plant had thousands of dollars worth of platinum stolen and taken home by workers. In 1975, at the in Germany, a Member of Parliament demonstrated the lack of security by carrying a bazooka into the plant under his coat.

Nuclear plants were designed to withstand earthquakes, hurricanes, and other extreme natural events. But deliberate attacks involving large airliners loaded with fuel, such as those that crashed into the World Trade Center and Pentagon, were not considered when design requirements for today's fleet of reactors were determined. It was in 1972 when three hijackers of a domestic passenger flight along the east coast of the U.S.

And threatened to crash the plane into a U.S. Plant in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The plane got as close as 8,000 feet above the site before the hijackers' demands were met. In February 1993, a man drove his car past a checkpoint at the Three Mile Island Nuclear plant, then broke through an entry gate. He eventually crashed the car through a secure door and entered the Unit 1 reactor turbine building.

The intruder, who had a history of mental illness, hid in a building and was not apprehended for four hours. Asks: 'What if he'd been a terrorist armed with a ticking bomb?' Fissile material may be stolen from nuclear plants and this may promote the spread of nuclear weapons. Many terrorist groups are eager to acquire the fissile material needed to make a crude nuclear device, or a. Materials on the are a global concern, and there is concern about the possible detonation of a small, crude nuclear weapon by a in a major city, with significant loss of life and property.

It is feared that a terrorist group could detonate a radiological or 'dirty bomb', composed of any radioactive source and a conventional explosive. The radioactive material is dispersed by the detonation of the explosive. Detonation of such a weapon is not as powerful as a nuclear blast, but can produce considerable radioactive. Alternatively, a terrorist group may position some of its members, or sympathisers, within the plant to sabotage it from inside. The IAEA Illicit Nuclear Trafficking Database notes 1,266 incidents reported by 99 countries over the last 12 years, including 18 incidents involving HEU or plutonium trafficking: • There have been 18 incidences of theft or loss of (HEU) and confirmed by the IAEA. • British academic Shaun Gregory alleged in 2009 that terrorists had attacked Pakistani nuclear facilities three times; twice in 2007 and once in 2008.

However, Pakistan's military rejected the allegations., a political analyst, said that the nuclear link was 'absolute nonsense'. Interestingly, all three attacks were suicide and appeared to aim at causing maximum damage and not seizing weapons.

• In November 2007, burglars with unknown intentions infiltrated the nuclear research facility near Pretoria, South Africa. The burglars escaped without acquiring any of the uranium held at the facility. • In June 2007, the released to the press the name of, allegedly the operations leader for developing tactical plans for detonating nuclear bombs in several American cities simultaneously.

• In November 2006, warned that were planning on using nuclear weapons against cities in the United Kingdom by obtaining the bombs via means. • In February 2006, of was arrested in, along with three Georgian accomplices, with 79.5 grams of 89 percent enriched HEU. • The with radioactive polonium 'represents an ominous landmark: the beginning of an era of nuclear terrorism,' according to Andrew J. • In June 2002, U.S.

Citizen was arrested for allegedly planning a radiological attack on the city of Chicago; however, he was never charged with such conduct. He was instead convicted of charges that he conspired to 'murder, kidnap and maim' people overseas. Sabotage by insiders [ ] Insider sabotage regularly occurs, because insiders can observe and work around security measures. In a study of insider crimes, the authors repeatedly said that successful insider crimes depended on the perpetrators' observation and knowledge of security vulnerabilities. Since the began, the 's nuclear laboratories have been known for widespread violations of security rules.

During the, physicist was barred from entering certain nuclear facilities; he would crack safes and violate other rules as pranks to reveal deficiencies in security. A better understanding of the reality of the threat will help to overcome complacency and is critical to getting countries to take stronger preventive measures. A fire caused 5–10 million dollars worth of damage to New York's in 1971. The arsonist turned out to be a plant maintenance worker. Sabotage by workers has been reported at many other reactors in the United States: at (1974),,,, (1974), (1980), and (1981).

Many reactors overseas have also reported sabotage by workers. Suspected arson has occurred in the USA and overseas. On 8 January 1982, the 70th anniversary of the formation of the,, the armed wing of the ANC attacked while it was still under construction. Damage was estimated at R 500 million and the commissioning of the plant was put back by 18 months. In 1998 a group of workers at one of Russia's largest nuclear weapons facilities attempted to steal 18.5 kilograms of HEU—enough for a bomb. Civil disobedience [ ] Various acts of since 1980 by the peace group have shown how nuclear weapons facilities can be penetrated, and the group's actions represent extraordinary breaches of security at plants in the United States. On July 28, 2012, three members of Plowshares cut through fences at the in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, which manufactures US nuclear weapons and stockpiles highly enriched uranium.

The group spray-painted protest messages, hung banners, and. The has acknowledged the seriousness of the 2012 Plowshares action, which involved the protesters walking into a high-security zone of the plant, calling the security breach 'unprecedented.'

Independent security contractor, WSI, has since had a weeklong 'security stand-down,' a halt to weapons production, and mandatory refresher training for all security staff. Policy experts are concerned about the relative ease with which these unarmed, unsophisticated protesters could cut through a fence and walk into the center of the facility. This is further evidence that nuclear security—the securing of highly enriched uranium and plutonium—should be a top priority to prevent terrorist groups from acquiring nuclear bomb-making material. These experts have questioned 'the use of private contractors to provide security at facilities that manufacture and store the government's most dangerous military material'.

In 2010, there was a security breach at a Belgian air force base which possessed U.S. Nuclear warheads. The incident involved six activists entering. The activists stayed in the snow-covered base for about 20 minutes, before being arrested. A similar event occurred in 2009. On December 5, 2011, two campaigners breached the perimeter of the, escaping detection for more than 14 hours, while posting videos of their sit-in on the internet.

Cyber attacks [ ] is a discovered in June 2010 that is believed to have been created by the and to attack Iran's nuclear facilities. It switched off safety devices, causing centrifuges to spin out of control. Stuxnet initially spreads via, and targets. While it is not the first time that hackers have targeted industrial systems, it is the first discovered that spies on and subverts industrial systems, and the first to include a (PLC). Different variants of Stuxnet targeted five Iranian organizations, with the probable target widely suspected to be infrastructure in; noted in August 2010 that 60% of the infected computers worldwide were in Iran.

Siemens stated that the worm has not caused any damage to its customers, but the nuclear program, which uses Siemens equipment procured secretly, has been damaged by Stuxnet. Concluded that the sophisticated attack could only have been conducted 'with nation-state support'. Ran the in 2007 to demonstrate how a cyber attack could destroy physical components of the electric grid.

The experiment used a computer program to rapidly open and close a 's circuit breakers out of phase from the rest of the grid and explode. This vulnerability is referred to as the Aurora Vulnerability. The number and sophistication of cyber attacks is on the rise. Drivers License Form Jamaica. The computers of 's nuclear plant operator () were hacked in December 2014.

The cyber attacks involved thousands of emails containing malicious code, and information was stolen. In December 2017 it was reported that the safety systems of an unidentified power station, believed to be in were compromised when the industrial safety technology made by Schneider Electric SE was targeted in what is believed to have been a state sponsored attack. The computer security company claimed that the malware, known as 'Triton' exploited a vulnerability in computers running the operating system.

Population surrounding plants [ ] Population density is one critical lens through which risks have to be assessed, says Laurent Stricker, a nuclear engineer and chairman of the: The plant in Karachi, Pakistan, has the most people—8.2 million—living within 30 kilometres, although it has just one relatively small reactor with an output of 125 megawatts. Next in the league, however, are much larger plants—Taiwan's 1,933-megawatt Kuosheng plant with 5.5 million people within a 30-kilometre radius and the 1,208-megawatt Chin Shan plant with 4.7 million; both zones include the capital city of Taipei. 172,000 people living within a 30 kilometre radius of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, have been forced or advised to evacuate the area. More generally, a 2011 analysis by Nature and Columbia University, New York, shows that some 21 nuclear plants have populations larger than 1 million within a 30-km radius, and six plants have populations larger than 3 million within that radius.

Implications [ ] In his book,, says that multiple and unexpected failures are built into society's complex and tightly-coupled nuclear reactor systems. Such accidents are unavoidable and cannot be designed around. In the 2003 book,, talks about the need for a resilient, secure, energy system: The foundation of a secure energy system is to need less energy in the first place, then to get it from sources that are inherently invulnerable because they're diverse, dispersed, renewable, and mainly local. They're secure not because they're American but because of their design. Any highly centralised energy system—pipelines, nuclear plants, refineries—invite devastating attack. But invulnerable alternatives don't, and can't, fail on a large scale. See also [ ]. The Sims Freeplay Hack Money 2016.

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Further reading [ ] • (9 August 2004).. New York, New York:.. • Byrne, John and Steven M.

Hoffman (1996). Governing the Atom: The Politics of Risk, Transaction Publishers. • (2009)., Black Inc. • Ferguson, Charles D., and, with Amy Sands, Leonard S. Spector and Fred L. Wehling (2004).. Monterey, California:..

CS1 maint: Multiple names: authors list () • (2010) [2008]. The Human Factor: Inside the CIA's Dysfunctional Intelligence Culture... Cambridge, Massachusetts:.. • Lovins, Amory B.

Price (1975)., Ballinger Publishing Company, 1975, • (2007).. New York, New York:. • Kuperman, Alan J (2013).. New York, New York:. References [ ]. • ^ Charles D. Ferguson & Frank A.

Settle (2012). Federation of American Scientists. • ^ (2011).: A Critical Global Assessment of Atomic Energy, World Scientific, p.

• ^ Kennette Benedict (9 August 2012).. Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.

• ^ Jay Davis. The Washington Post, March 25, 2008. • ^ Brian Michael Jenkins. CNN.com, September 11, 2008. May 22, 2007, p. • ^ Nicholas D.

The New York Times, March 10, 2004. 25 March 2013. • ^ Penny Hitchin, 'Cyber attacks on the nuclear industry', Nuclear Engineering International, 15 September 2015. Accessed 23 July 2007 • ^ Nelson, Dean (11 August 2009)... Retrieved 18 September 2017. • ^ Walsh, Declan (12 August 2009)...

Retrieved 18 September 2017. 12 August 2009. Retrieved 18 September 2017. •, Times •, p. •, Iraq's Osirak Destruction. • • • ^ (2001).

•, Global Security Newswire, June 11, 2003. • Newtan, Samuel Upton (2007). Nuclear War 1 and Other Major Nuclear Disasters of the 20th Century, AuthorHouse, p.146.

• Stephanie Cooke (March 19, 2011).. • Frank Barnaby (2007).

International Symposium. • Bunn, Matthew. President and Fellows of Harvard College. Retrieved 28 January 2013. • ^ Bunn, Matthew & Col-Gen. Maslin (2010).

Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard University. Retrieved July 26, 2012. • • Washington Post, December 20, 2007, Op-Ed by •. June 4, 2007. • • 'Ushering in the era of nuclear terrorism,' by Patterson, Andrew J.

MD, PhD, Critical Care Medicine, v. 35, p.953–954, 2007.

• and (2014).. The American Academy of Arts & Sciences. African National Congress. Archived from on 4 April 2007. Retrieved 14 May 2007.

• Helen Bamford (11 March 2006).. Retrieved 14 May 2007. • Kevin Dougherty (February 6, 2010).. Stars and Stripes. • Tara Patel (December 16, 2011)..

Seattle Times. 30 September 2010. Retrieved 5 December 2010. • Robert McMillan (16 September 2010).. Retrieved 16 September 2010. Virus Bulletin.

26 September 2010. 15 February 2011. Retrieved 17 February 2011. • Steven Cherry; with Ralph Langner (13 October 2010)... • Beaumont, Claudine (23 September 2010)..

London: The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 28 September 2010. • MacLean, William (24 September 2010)..

• ComputerWorld (14 September 2010).. Retrieved 3 October 2010. 29 November 2010.

• Ethan Bronner & William J. Broad (29 September 2010)..

Retrieved 2 October 2010.. 24 September 2010. Retrieved 28 September 2010.

24 September 2010. • 'Mouse click could plunge city into darkness, experts say', CNN, September 27, 2007. Source: • Gibbs, Samuel (2017-12-15).. The Guardian.. Retrieved 2017-12-16. • ^ Declan Butler (21 April 2011)..

• Daniel E Whitney (2003). Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Lovins and L. Hunter Lovins. 'Terrorism and Brittle Technology' in Technology and the Future by Albert H.

Teich, Ninth edition, Thomson, 2003, p. External links [ ] •, Alsos Digital Library for Nuclear Issues • – slideshow by • •, •, International Review of the Red Cross •.

It’s been more than six years since a team of Navy SEALs brought justice to Osama bin Laden in a raid on his Abbottabad compound in Pakistan, and captured a priceless trove of intelligence at the same time. The CIA has begun releasing some of bin Laden’s papers,, but has already had an advance review of the material. Thomas Joscelyn and Bill Roggio delve deeply into the new insights that will emerge from this release, with the most significant likely to be the revelation of a partnership between al-Qaeda and Iran that many said was impossible: One never-before-seen 19-page document contains a senior jihadist’s assessment of the group’s relationship with Iran. The author explains that Iran offered some “Saudi brothers” in al Qaeda “everything they needed,” including “money, arms” and “training in Hezbollah camps in Lebanon, in exchange for striking American interests in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf.” Iranian intelligence facilitated the travel of some operatives with visas, while sheltering others. Abu Hafs al-Mauritani, an influential ideologue prior to 9/11, helped negotiate a safe haven for his jihadi comrades inside Iran. But the author of the file, who is clearly well-connected, indicates that al Qaeda’s men violated the terms of the agreement and Iran eventually cracked down on the Sunni jihadists’ network, detaining some personnel.

Still, the author explains that al Qaeda is not at war with Iran and some of their “interests intersect,” especially when it comes to being an “enemy of America.” I’m old enough to recall when those who suggested an Iran/IRGC link to al-Qaeda got nothing but laughter. “Radical Sunnis and radical Shi’ites hate each other!” we’d be reminded. “They want to wipe each other out!” Well, it turns out that they hate something more than each other — and that’s the United States. As many of us suspected.

The partnership was not without its ups and downs, of course: Bin Laden’s files show the two sides have had heated disagreements. There has been hostility between the two.

Al Qaeda even penned a letter to Ayatollah Khamenei demanding the release of family members held in Iranian custody. Other files show that al Qaeda kidnapped an Iranian diplomat to exchange for its men and women. Bin Laden himself considered plans to counter Iran’s influence throughout the Middle East, which he viewed as pernicious.

However, bin Laden urged caution when it came to threatening Iran. In a previously released letter, bin Laden described Iran as al Qaeda’s “main artery for funds, personnel, and communication.” And despite their differences, Iran continued to provide crucial support for al Qaeda’s operations. In a series of designations and other official statements issued since July 2011, the US Treasury and State Departments have repeatedly targeted al Qaeda’s “” inside Iran.

Sources familiar with the intelligence used to justify those designations say they are based, in part, on the Abbottabad files. It is likely that still more revelations concerning al Qaeda’s relationship with Iran remain to be found in the cache made available today. This raises even more questions about Barack Obama’s deal with Iran over its nuclear-weapons program, and especially the release of $150 billion in assets to Tehran.

By the time of the deal, the US had this information for almost five years. Bin Laden himself had written to his associates about the partnership with Iran being crucial to their operations. And yet Obama and John Kerry never made the ending of their state sponsorship of terrorism an explicit part of the agreement. In fact, that the Obama administration expected that some of the released assets would go to terrorist organizations: The end of sanctions frees about $100 billion in frozen Iranian funds, but Kerry said Tehran will only have access to roughly $55 billion because much of that money will go toward repaying loans and other long-term commitments. The rest will likely be used to address Iran’s ailing oil operations and other infrastructure that went without maintenance for years, he added. While there is no evidence that Iran is funneling newly released funds to organizations that the United States considers terrorist groups, Kerry said he believes Iran will eventually continue to support such groups. At the time, Obama and Kerry were that would have shown that one recipient of Iranian assistance was al-Qaeda — with whom the US was in a declared state of military conflict.

Not only did the deal fail to end Iran’s nuclear weapons program — it claims to have stalled it for ten years — but it gave Iran a massive cash infusion for them to fund anti-American operations, including the perpetrators of 9/11. Joscelyn and Roggio point out a few other nuggets from today’s release. Despite rumors of being cut off in Pakistan, the papers show that bin Laden very much remained in charge of al-Qaeda until the SEALs showed up in Abbottabad. Even the supposedly independent subsidiaries like AQAP and al-Shabaab received direction and advice from bin Laden until the very end. The most notorious satellite, al-Qaeda in Iraq/ISIS, should get a significant review in coming days, especially since one audio biography recovered in the raid puts Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in Iran prior to the US invasion of Iraq in 2003. They conclude: Today’s release creates a unique opportunity for experts, researchers and journalists to garner a better understanding of al Qaeda. We hope they will join us in the effort to learn more.

Keep checking back at FDD’s Long War Journal as the files emerge. In the meantime, have some fun with this: Osama bin Laden had a file called 'assss.jpg' on his computer — Stefan Heck (@boring_as_heck).