OUR PICKSWill Criminals, Non-State Terrorists Get Nuclear Weapons? | Building a Cyber Insurance Backstop Is Harder Than It Sounds | Invoking the Alien Enemies Act to Deport Immigrants?, and more
· Will Criminals, Non-State Terrorists Get Nuclear Weapons?
Could the next major threat to global security come from criminal syndicates with access to nuclear materials
· Russia Is a Serious Threat in Space, but There’s No Need to Panic
It would effectively be a kamikaze attack in space because it would likely take out many of Russia’s own satellites along with whichever systems it would be targeting and the satellites of many other nations
· The Right-Wing Israeli Campaign to Resettle Gaza
Most Israelis don’t want to build new settlements in Gaza. That doesn’t mean it won’t happen.
· Building a Cyber Insurance Backstop Is Harder Than It Sounds
Insurers argue that a government backstop would help them cover catastrophic cyberattacks, but it’s not so simple
· What Should Courts do if a Future President Invokes the Alien Enemies Act to Deport Immigrants?
The 1798 Alien Enemies Act empowers the president to detain and deport non‑citizens in times of a declared war or presidentially proclaimed “invasion”or “predatory incursion”by a foreign nation or government
Will Criminals, Non-State Terrorists Get Nuclear Weapons? (Johnny Franks, Warrior Maven)
Could the next major threat to global security come from criminal syndicates with access to nuclear materials? Recent charges brought by the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York against a Japanese Yakuza leader and affiliates over international trafficking of narcotics and weapons, including surface-to-air missiles, highlight a grave concern regarding the potential for nuclear materials to fall into the hands of non-state actors or rogue regimes capable of developing nuclear weapons. The case signifies that intricate networks facilitate the illegal trade of susceptible materials and technologies, posing tremendous challenges to global security and non-proliferation endeavors.
The production of nuclear weapons requires not only specific radioactive materials, such as uranium or plutonium, but also a sophisticated technological base, extensive financial resources, and scientific expertise. In contrast, the enrichment of uranium to weapons-grade levels requires applying nuclear power to the sources of uranium and using various atomic processing technologies. Plutonium produced in nuclear reactors must be reprocessed, recycled, and converted into weapon-grade plutonium. This way, it requires advanced scientific and technical capabilities, significant infrastructure, and safety measures to prevent accidents or leaks with catastrophic environmental and health consequences.
What sets this apart is that in most cases, the construction of a nuclear weapon will be an engineered explosion, not only needing a precision-engineered mechanism for the release of energy for fission to have much of the material be a critical mass, but further development to effectively design the weapon that in maximum efficiency can reach the critical mass. This includes developing and acquiring detonation mechanisms, ensuring the reliability and safety of the weapon; and, perhaps, minimizing its size for delivery on the means of delivery, whether on the outside surface of a missile or by other means.
Russia Is a Serious Threat in Space, but There’s No Need to Panic (Todd Harrison and Clayton Swope, National Interest)
We learned recently that the United States has intelligence suggesting that Russia is considering a new anti-satellite weapon of some kind. With U.S. officials providing few confirmed details, many have assumed the worst. But we should all take a step back and breathe.
