It need only use conventional weapons against one of the many nuclear reactors in the world in order to seriously damage the reactor, thus releasing radioactive matter into the atmosphere. Such an attack can endanger large population centers. Nuclear weapons can give terrorist organizations considerable advantages, since they can inflict large numbers of casualties and command worldwide media attention. Moreover, because it is hard to assess a terrorist organization s threats to use nuclear weapons. Western countries are particularly susceptible to terrorist blackmail under threat of a nuclear strike.
Decision makers have no way of knowing how likely the terrorists are to carry out their threat.
The disintegration of the Soviet Union, the economic crisis that has gripped most of the FSU, the demoralization of the Russian army, and the deterioration of governmental control of radioactive material and nuclear bombs in some of these countries have encouraged Black-market commerce in radioactive material. It may purchase or obtain radioactive materials from other countries, particularly a those that support terrorism. Several revolutionary states such as Iran, Iraq, and Libya are known to be actively and regularly assisting various terrorist organizations. These same states have considerable resources and have made massive investments toward the acquisition of nuclear capability, and are striving to develop or purchase nuclear weapons. It is rather unlikely that a terrorist organization would itself construct a nuclear bomb, for this requires special resources and training that terrorist organizations do not possess at the present time.