Counter-Terrorism


US fight against weapons of mass destruction
Student’s name
Institutional affiliation
IntroductionWMD stands for Weapons of Mass Destruction. The destructive weapons are mainly used by terrorist to cause tremendous attacks which leads to injuries, loss of lives and property damages. There are four types of WMD which include; nuclear, radiological, chemical and biological weapons. The four types of weapons are used to cause deadly attacks which affect the targeted nations both politically and economically. However, this paper will focus on how nuclear weapons are posing a great threat to the United States of America, and the measures they are putting in place to counter-attack.
Nuclear weapons as a threat to the US.
Nuclear weapons are devices which release energy when they explode. The weapons explode as a result of nuclear fusion or fission. Atomic and thermonuclear bombs are examples of nuclear weapons. The effect of nuclear weapons depends on where it exploded. The nuclear weapons cause both short and long-term effects on human beings and the environment.
President George W. Bush of America and his successor president Obama they both agreed that the most deadly threat to the security of US is nuclear terrorism. Terrorist’s groups e.g. al Qaeda are still making efforts to get nuclear weapons. The attack in the US which destroyed pentagon house and world trade Centre shed light on the kind of destructions the terrorists aim at. In 1998, the terrorist group also bombed Kenya and Tanzania US embassies.

Al Qaeda does not base their attacks on the availability of weapons but on how the weapons are destructive.
The terrorist groups through the use of technology can gain knowledge on how they can assemble nuclear bombs. Through the spread of missile expertise the terrorist poses a large threat to the US and other nations. The al Qaeda is working hard to fulfill their desire of developing a nuclear bomb. The terrorist group has attempted to get nuclear materials which include enriched Uranium. The terrorists are getting support from state and non-state affiliates. Some countries like Iran, Libya, Pakistan, Syria, and North Korea are supporting terrorism by exporting ballistic missiles. North Korea texted a large number of ballistic missiles which poses a great threat to the US in 2017.
Methods used by the US to counter-attack nuclear terrorism.
The US is leading in getting solutions to curb terrorism through the following ways:
The US government have developed a scanning system to detect nuclear materials in the shipping containers.
The US has engaged in an agreement with Russia to protect nuclear weapons from being accessed by the terrorist.
The US is collaborating with other nations to fight against a terrorist attack using nuclear weapons. Through the United Nations, different initiatives and resolution have been developed. These initiatives include the Global Threat Reduction Initiative (GTRI) and the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI). The resolutions put in place required member states not to give any support to terrorist and to restrict their movements.
Conclusion
Nuclear terrorism is a threat to the US since some states are ready to help terrorism, North Korea is one of them. The black market is helping terrorist in their attempt to gain the explosive devices. However, the US has put necessary measures to mitigate this challenge.
References
Ali, F. (2007). Rethinking US Counter-Terrorism Strategies: A Muslim Perspective. Journal of Policing, Intelligence and Counter Terrorism, 2(2), 30-47.doi:10.1080/18335300.2007.9686896