Attributes of Potential Criminal Adversaries of U.S. Nuclear Programs

Identifies and describes some of the critical attributes of groups or individuals who might carry out criminal actions against U.S. nuclear programs. The major objective is to assemble information that will help designers of security systems develop criteria for protecting nuclear facilities against armed attacks or sabotage. Since there has not been a large number of incidents against nuclear facilities, the authors have selected five categories of criminal, terrorist, and paramilitary actions that might be analogous to future nuclear actions: (1) task force crimes (i.e., major armed robberies and burglaries); (2) terrorist assaults; (3) military commando raids; (4) industrial sabotage; and (5) symbolic bombings. These are examined for common features, including adversaries' aims and objectives; planning skills; physical resources; means of transportation, access, and egress; and amount of time required to carry out a given action. Policy observations are made on the basis of analogs that are relevant to safeguarding nuclear programs and materials.