From left, John W. Derry of the Atomic Energy Commission showed Senators John W. Bricker, William F. Knowland and Brien McMahon a Geiger counter in 1950. Documents from the era show concern about a nuclear attack that is akin to fears now. George Tames/The New York TimesCold War Nuclear Fears Now Apply To Terrorists -- New York Times
WASHINGTON — The top secret National Intelligence Estimate did not mince words. The United States faced an enemy with “no scruples about employing any weapon or tactic,” it said, and nuclear weapons smuggled across porous borders threatened to devastate American cities. Sleeper cells, the document warned, might already be inside the country.
Or so the Central Intelligence Agency told President Harry S. Truman. The year was 1951.
Read more ....
My Comment: There is a huge difference between today's threats and the 1950s/1960s. One big difference is that during the Cold War there was a return address in the event of a nuclear attack on an American city. In today's world, many of our enemies are without states or they live in cities/countries that are innocent and uninvolved in such terror.
Fortunately, to develop and construct a nuclear device is beyond the capabilities of a terrorist organization. In addition, enriched uranium and plutonium contain impurities that can be traced to the reactor and/or facility that it came from. In the event that Iran or North Korea decide to sell and/or give bomb grade material to a terrorist organization, their "fingerprints" will be on it and retaliation can be properly and legitimately implemented.
Unfortunately, at this stage we will then be talking about the destruction of an entire country and the loss of life that will each into the millions.