Although there may be fewer nuclear missiles pointed at the United States today compared to 1991, the degradation in security of Russia's nuclear weapon complex has increased the danger of theft of nuclear weapons or materials. While some alarmism has always permeated the loose-nukes debate, few dispute the threat. There have been dozens of close calls over the past few years.
Recent evidence indicates that the situation is worsening, though.
And in September 1998 several soldiers from the 12 th Main Directorate, the elite division charged with guarding Russia's nuclear weapons facilities, killed a guard, took hostages, and tried to hijack an airplane at the nuclear test site at Novaya Zemlya. To combat this threat the United States allocates money annually to several key non-proliferation programs. Administered by the Departments of Defense, Energy and State, these programs have successfully assisted Russia and other former Sovie states by destroying portions of their nuclear weapons stockpile, increasing security and instituting better accounting practices at nuclear weapon and material facilities, and employing former nuclear and WMD scientists in civilian projects. Three other threat reduction programs are focused specifically on the brain drain problem. The implementation of these programs has not been trouble-free, however.