(Click To Enlarge)Nuclear Weapon Programs Worldwide (From Wikimedia)
* Red: Five "nuclear weapons states" from the NPT.
* Dark orange: Other known nuclear powers.
* Yellow: States suspected of having possession of, or suspected of being in the process of developing, nuclear weapons and/or nuclear programs.
* Purple: States which at one point had nuclear weapons and/or nuclear weapons research programs.
* Green: Other states capable of developing nuclear weapons within several years if the decision to do so were made.
Historical states have been represented by their successor states (i.e. Yugoslavia by Serbia and Montenegro, as they apparently inherited the nuclear materials of the socialist state after it fragmented).
Gone Missing -- New York Times
Ever since Sept. 11, 2001, the world has shuddered at the possibility of loose nuclear weapons or radioactive material falling into the hands of terrorists. Shuddered and done too little to stop it.
Mohamed ElBaradei, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, warned last week that there has been a “disturbingly high” number of reports of missing or illegally trafficked nuclear material. According to agency figures, there were 243 incidents between June 2007 and June of this year. Fortunately, the amounts reported missing have been small. Some experts say that if all the material were lumped together it would not be enough for one nuclear weapon. That is no consolation in a world where so many countries are eager to build their own nuclear reactors and possibly nuclear weapons.
That means that in coming years there will be even more states with nuclear materials, more scientists with nuclear knowledge and more opportunities for terrorists to get their hands on the material for a bomb.
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My Comment: Something to thing about before going to vote tomorrow.