LONDON (AP) - The U.N. atomic agency chief urged the world Tuesday to step up efforts to protect existing nuclear material to prevent extremist groups from pursuing nuclear and radiological terrorism.
Mohamed ElBaradei, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said that in the last 10 years the IAEA has recorded more than 650 attempts to smuggle such material. ''Fortunately, only a relatively small number of these cases have involved high-enriched uranium or plutonium,'' ElBaradei said in a speech prepared for delivery at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London. ''But this should not be a source of comfort. If an extremist group were to acquire nuclear or radiological material, they would not think twice about using it.'' [Factor in 9/11 Commission bad grading of U.S. Homeland Security efforts?] |