Will Our Future Be Safe From Nuclear Weapons?

The threat of nuclear attacks is present world wide everyday. In order to protect our country, and help lower these risks, President Obama "Opened a 47-nation nuclear summit" at which he hoped to secure all of the nuclear materials from around the world within the next few years. It is well-known that al-Qaida is working on their own nuclear weapons, but if we can keep them from getting the materials they need, they will not be able to.

Leaders from all over the world are joining together to work together to find a way to prevent terrorist organizations, such as al-Qaida, Taliban, and others from obtaining the technology, intelligence, and materials needed to make these weapons. There is evidence that "Al-Qaida is looking for those vulnerabilities and facilities and stockpiles in different countries that would allow them to obtain byproducts of nuclear reactors and materials that they can use, but also to go after those individuals that might have access to the materials, as well as the individuals who have he expertise that they need to actually fabricate and improvise a nuclear devise." This means that if they can get their hands on what results after a nuclear reactor goes off, they would be able to use it to create their own weapon. This passage also represents the threat that al-Qaida could kidnap someone with the skills they need and blackmail, or force them into creating them a weapon.

"...They would not only have the ability to threaten our security and world order in an unprecedented manner but also to kill and injure many thousands of men, women, and children, which is al-Qaida's sole agenda,". Although I am aware that these threats exist in everyday life and that there really are people who's main goal in life is to cause pain, reading this particular passage really disturbed me. I think it mostly disturbed me because it shows how truly horrible things could be if al-Qaida achieved it's goal of creating their own nuclear weapons. After watching movies on Nagasaki and Hiroshima, I have seen how much destruction just one nuclear bomb can cause, and considering that was over 50 years ago, they are probably even more powerful now.

In my opinion, it is terrible that high school students should have to live knowing that these kinds of horrors exist, and while it would be unrealistic to think that these threats can disappear, I find it comforting to know that leaders from all over the world are joining together to try and prevent it.

http://www.aolnews.com/world/article/president-obama-opens-47-nation-nuclear-summit-in-washington/19436774