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Al-Qaeda: Operatives Seek Russian Weapons and Materials, U.S. Suspects U.S. intelligence agencies are concerned that terrorist groups including al-Qaeda are attempting to obtain small nuclear devices and weapon-grade materials from Russian sources, the Washington Times reported today (see GSN, Sept. 26). Recent intelligence reports have noted discussions between al-Qaeda operatives on the purchase of nuclear weapons and weapon-grade materials from Russian organized crime groups, according to the Times. The murder of Sergei Bakhvalov, a Russian nuclear chemist and expert in plutonium extraction, in August might also have been linked to terrorists attempts to obtain nuclear weapons, materials or expertise, according to Russian authorities. There have been instances where al-Qaeda operatives have made contacts to see if it is possible to purchase weapons of mass destruction on the international black market, a senior U.S. defense official said. “I can’t tell you here that I have evidence they’ve made use of them,” the official said. “I know that they are working on them; the documentation is there.” Russian stockpiles of nuclear weapons and weapon-grade materials are secure and can resist terrorist attacks, Russian officials said. “A theft or a leak from our nuclear weapons storage facilities is absolutely impossible,” said Col. Gen. Igor Volynkin, head of the Russian Defense Ministry’s 12th main department in charge of nuclear security. “The Defense Ministry’s 12th department is reinforcing and is capable of resisting any terrorist attacks.” There are no signs yet that al-Qaeda has successfully obtained a nuclear weapon or the materials needed to construct one, a U.S. intelligence official said, but the possibility cannot be completely dismissed. Terrorists might also be able to use Russian nuclear weapons through indirect methods such as cyberterrorism, according to Bruce Blair, director of the Center for Defense Information. He noted a U.S. Defense Department study indicating that terrorists could gain remote access to the U.S. Navy’s nuclear command system and send a launch order to Trident nuclear missile submarines. “The point of this last story is that the nuclear security problem in Russia has been too narrowly conceived,” Blair said. “There are other scenarios besides the loss of a weapon or materials that fall into the wrong hands” (Bill Gertz, Washington Times, Oct. 8).
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