THREAT ANALYSIS

International Security

Awareness of Threats

The proliferation of weapons of mass destruction is aggravated by growing inventories of special nuclear materials, the technical simplicity of biological and chemical agent production, increased access to missile technology and increases in regional strife.

Avoiding Technological Surprise

The problem is further complicated by the specter of subnational terrorists employing these weapons and even international criminals trafficking in nuclear materials and components. In all, rapid advances on all technology fronts are increasing daily the likelihood of a unique “technological surprise.”

Solutions for Intractable Problems

To guard against such happenings, Los Alamos National Laboratory vigorously pursues a program* providing government agencies with technical assessments of these critical issues, and the laboratory specializes in creative technical solutions to otherwise “intractable” national security problems.

* Under the auspices of the DOE Office of Intelligence, Executive Order 12333, Section 1.13, and Executive Order 12958.

Reading...

LOS ALAMOS SCIENCE
Russian-American Collaborations to Reduce the Nuclear Danger
(Number 24, Summer 1996)