On Wednesday afternoon, Mexican authorities reported to have
recovered a stolen truck that contained extremely dangerous radioactive material.
The material stolen was cobalt-60 which is used in medical treatment. The
container that held the material was found empty, but officials say they have
located the cobalt half a mile from the container with no risk to the
surrounding population so far. Juan Eibenschutz, general director of Mexico's
National Commission of Nuclear Security and Safeguards, reported that the
thieves are likely either dead or dying following the incident because of
radiation exposure. A main concern of authorities was that the material in the
stolen truck is dangerous to handle. In addition, it could also be used to make
a radioactive dirty bomb. According to safety guidelines on the IAEA website, a
"malevolent use of radioactive sources could also cause significant
social, psychological and economic impacts."
In the case of radioactive material being stolen, last year
alone the IAEA recorded 17 cases of illegal possession and attempts to sell
nuclear materials and 24 incidents of theft or loss. It says this is the
"tip of the iceberg." Many cases have involved former parts of the
Soviet Union, such as Moldova — where in 2011 several people were arrested
trying to sell weapons-grade uranium. But the problem is not confined to
Eastern European states. According to the Aljazeera article, major international
efforts have been made since the end of the Cold War in 1991 and the September
11 attacks to prevent nuclear material falling into the wrong hands. A report
issued in July by the Arms Control Association and the Partnership for Global
Security said “progress had been made reducing the threat but that significant
work remained.” With loose nuclear material located all over the world, the
threat of nuclear terrorism becomes a topic of discussion. Terrorist
organizations have tried to obtain nuclear material in the past, so securing these
loose nuclear materials has definitely been a priority, especially since Obama’s
presidency. This interestingly applies to what we've been talking about in
class this week regarding terrorism. Being
that it is indeed a possibility that terrorist organizations could obtain
nuclear materials, how does this change the game in terms of terrorism and
counter-terrorism? How do resolves change on either side? How does this change
bargaining from either side?
Articles:
This was a very interesting event, although I think it was played out to be more dangerous than it actually was. I think it is important that we distinguish between nuclear terrorism and this event, which appeared to be just theft.Fox News reported that "half a dozen thefts of radioactive materials" are reported every year in Mexico, all of which have proven to be aimed at the vehicles themselves. As far as counter-terrorism strategies goes, it is not possible to monitor every radioactive material. However, enriched nuclear material is generally very well guarded. The increase in security of these more potent nuclear materials is the only sure way of lowering the threat of nuclear-terrorism.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/12/04/stolen-radioactive-material-found-in-mexico/?intcmp=latestnews
I am in aggreance with Parker. I feel that this situation does bring to light a serious issues- nuclear theft is an international issue, just as theft of other weapons. Cobalt-60 is not weapons grade uranium. Whatever the intentions were, it would take much more than just the acquisition of Cobalt-60 to successfully produce a nuclear weapon. This being said, it could change the resolve and bargaining. If an irrational actor was to obtain a nuclear weapon or get close to making one, they can make a credible threat to achieve their goals. The rational state actor should act in a way that lowers the heightened threat. In sum, the Mexico incident shows a significant threat for the world but does not point to the fact that fringe groups are acquiring nuclear weapons. If they acquire these nuclear weapons, the rational actors around the world must delicately react in a manor that appeases the groups request without causing a nuclear war.
ReplyDeleteI find the event in Mexico to be a little funny. From what i have read about the stolen truck, the hijackers really did not know what they were stealing. And the radioactive material and truck was found after the thief's pulled the truck into an abandoned area, removed the lead case from the truck housing the cobalt and then opened it up, presumably without the proper protection and precautions. The radio active signature emitting from the opened case is what led authorities to it and the truck. I feel if they knew what was inside the truck they may have been able to sell it to a larger criminal organization in Mexico. Although Mexican cartels would probably never revert to terrorist tactics using dirty bombs, some trading partners may find the material desirable such as FARC or at least a connection they've made within their weapons trading business. Such a large collection of radio active material is a precious find for any organization looking to manufacture such a bomb, especially when the alternative to collecting similar materials is monotonous and involves high visibility like collecting large quantities of smoke detectors. I feel like I have also said way to many NSA keywords for them not read my comment now too.
ReplyDeleteI am so glad that I am not the only one that thinks the event in Mexico was at least a little funny...
DeleteIf a terrorist organization acquired nuclear weapons, that would represent a series international threat. It is very important to track down and prosecute people, even though, some of them such in this case are involved in a theft of radioactive material rather than enriched uranium. Even a small detonation is dangerous, especially in the arms of terrorists.
ReplyDeleteFrom recent news reports, it seems like the car thieves did not realize what they were stealing. I think it is just my sick sense of humor...but this seemed like something that came out of a movie. Car thieves think they are stealing a bunch of iPads and end up stealing radioactive material, making headlining news and cause international panic...? Yeah sounds like the premise of a movie. But in all seriousness, I think that this calls much needed attention to the issue at hand. What if these car thieves were really a terrorist organization trying to get their hands on radioactive material to hurt innocent people? Then we would have a big problem, not a running joke.
ReplyDeleteIt may appear to be an amusing stint in the news. But personally I find it pretty alarming that a couple of thieves who were dumb enough to steal a truck with no clue as to what was inside get even get there hands on this material. What sort of security is being put on these high risk items. Alright so far no terrorist group known to date has gotten there hands on even the materials to create a weapon let alone a whole one. I'm not discounting that most of the time it seems a bit far fetched and something meant for Hollywood. But if a couple of low level thieves can breach the security of such items, what's to prevent a similar attempt from a now better informed destructive group? More importantly then the James Bond scenario, how many times a year is there an oil spill or some other man made catastrophe? People worry about nuclear power plants, and those things are stable. Transporting the stuff has to be even more volatile. These items need to be better secured than they are now before a future incident occurs.
ReplyDeleteI briefly saw something about this in the news the other day and thought it was very interesting and applicable to this class. It's pretty crazy that there is such a lack of security surrounding things of this importance, however, I do think it is pretty unlikely that terrorists will be able to get a hold of weapons of such high degree. However, it does make you wonder, if such amateurs can accomplish it, why not terrorists too? And that is a terrifying thought, even if it is unlikely.
ReplyDeleteI do think this article is pretty entertaining but alarming that this truck was clearly accessible enough that a couple of idiots were able to steal, even though they had no idea they stole a truck with radioactive materials that could be extremely harmful. I think Mexico and many other countries (including the US), need to reconsider the security and prevention of stealing these harmful chemicals. It's crazy how we talk about improving our security but how was this truck so accessible to steal, and who was in charge of watching it?
ReplyDeleteThe fact that radioactive material is in abundance around the world for things such as medical treatment is concerning because this material can clearly be used to create a dirty bomb. By combining radioactive material with conventional explosives, terrorists, once obtaining this material, can easily make a weapon that could harm large numbers of people in a particularly nasty fashion. In my opinion, dirty bombs are cruel weapons by any standards and the fact that this incident happened in a bordering country makes it even more threatening. It will be important for intelligence agencies to monitor these materials, particularly in countries that border us.
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ReplyDeleteAs I have continuously read reports on the matter from CNN and Fox news I would argue that this was a simple theft of a vehicle with no real motive of stealing a chemical to make a weapon. The hijackers stole the vehicle and then were later reported to have opened the container containing the cobalt-60 simply out of curiosity resulting in their deaths. However, I find it a little alarming that these men we able to steal such a harmful substance. It is completely possible that if these men had realized what was in the truck after they acquired it that they could have sold it to the highest bidder or they themselves could have used it for a later attack. The fact that this substance was not guarded better is concerning and needs to surly be addressed.
The fact that this happened by accident should cause for some worry as to how governments are securing dangerous radioactive materials. However, in the long run I don't think a terrorist group's acquisition of a limited amount of radioactive material would cause any permanent change in anti-terrorism policy. I think any government's first response would be to increase and augment security measures in the transportation of radioactive materials to avoid future losses. A terrorist group can only do so much with a small amount of radioactive material, but if they had a consistent supply that didn't depend on the group's ability to steal it from the government, only then would anti-terrorism policy undergo some revision. In Mexico, this issue seems like a relatively easy fix, but it does create some concern about how serious other governments are in making sure their nuclear materials are secure from illegal third party acquisition.
ReplyDeleteOn the INT aspect of things, how many countries have radioactive material and enough to make dirty bombs. Not all countries keep radioactive material as locked up as we do in the US. This possess a serious threat for us, because even though we keep our stash safe, it would be easier for the terrorists to go in to a third world country and take theirs to use on us back here in the US. Radioactive material that can potentially make a dirty bomb needs to have stricter standards in the INT community.
ReplyDeleteThis is an extremely interesting situation, especially since it is believed that the people that stole the truck were unaware of its contents. If those that stole the vehicle were unaware that it contained hazardous nuclear material, the crime presents the lack of security of these dangerous materials. Thus, even with its quick recovery, the simple fact that materials like cobalt-60 are not heavily secured or protected for common thieves and criminals reveals there needs to be an international restructuring on how to contain, transport, and dispose of these materials safely, without them becoming an international incident. With this in mind, this could potentially create problems if terrorist organizations choose to exploit the lack of security on these materials. Therefore, these materials have the potential to be extremely damaging with dirty bombs, and if terrorist organizations decide to capitalize on the lack of security they would have the ability to create weapons that could force massive political adjustments by major governments.
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