Facing Double Jeopardy: Nuclear Proliferation and Terrorism

As the world's only superpower, the United States has a major interest in reducing the spread and use of nuclear weapons. Only nuclear weapons can strategically constrain U.S. action overseas, and only nuclear weapons can realistically threaten the fabric of American society. Alarmingly, given the

consequences, the risk of a nuclear attack against the United States is increasing. In the near term, this concern focuses mainly on the possible acquisition of nuclear weapons by terror groups, particularly al-Qaeda. Traditional tools that have kept the nuclear peace, such as deterrence, are of little or no value against these terrorists. Therefore, the only hope for the United States is to prevent such groups from acquiring nuclear weapons. In the long term, the primary nuclear danger is a possible new wave of state proliferation that engulfs the Middle East and East Asia. As today's international security is predicated on the existence of few nuclear states, the spread of nuclear weapons in these regions fundamentally challenges U.S. security.