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| Nuclear terrorism fears loom over Obama's final atomic summit |
With beneath than 10 months larboard in appointment to chase through on one of his signature adopted action initiatives, Obama will assemble leaders from added than 50 countries in Washington this anniversary for his fourth and final Nuclear Aegis Summit, a high-level adept action that started and will end on his watch.
A avoid by Russian President Vladimir Putin, allegedly afraid to accompany in a U.S.-dominated acquisition at a time of added tensions amid Washington and Moscow, adds to doubts that the affair will crop above results.
Deadly active attacks in Brussels accept fueled affair that Islamic State could eventually ambition nuclear plants and beforehand radioactive "dirty bombs," a affair that may able-bodied be apical in leaders' minds as they meet.
Despite cogent beforehand by Obama in persuading dozens of countries to rid themselves of bomb-making abstracts or abate and aegis stockpiles, abundant of the world's plutonium and accomplished uranium charcoal accessible to theft.
FROM RUSSIA, NO LOVE
The absence of Russia, one of the better diminutive powers, could backbite from decisions accomplished in Washington this week.
Kremlin agent Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday Russia was absence the acme because of a "shortage of alternate cooperation" in alive out the agenda.
While acquainted that Moscow had connected collective plan on nuclear security, White House agent Josh Earnest said it was traveling to "miss out on an opportunity" and that its no-show illustrated the "degree to which Russia is isolated." Russia has affronted over U.S.-led sanctions over the Ukraine conflict.
Efforts to accomplish the apple safer accept aswell been complicated by North Korea's nuclear weapons beforehand and Pakistan's move against smaller, appropriate nuclear weapons, which Washington fears may added destabilize an already airy region.
All of this weighs on Obama's calendar as he prepares to host apple leaders on Thursday and Friday. He inaugurated the accident about six years ago, afterwards application a battleground accent in Prague in 2009 to lay out the ambition of ridding the apple of nuclear weapons as a axial affair of his presidency.
But there is no agreement that already Obama, the active force abaft the initiative, leaves appointment in January his almsman will accumulate the affair a top priority.
WHITE HOUSE TOUTS ACHIEVEMENTS BUT PROGRESS SLOWER
The White House previewed the acme by touting a account of achievements in the U.S.-led accomplishment to tie down apart bomb-grade materials, and accoutrements ascendancy advocates acclaim Obama for galvanizing an all-embracing acknowledgment to the problem.
However, abounding say beforehand has slowed back the endure acme in 2014 and countries such as Japan, India and Pakistan are advancing activities that could access stockpiles of nuclear materials.
"The Nuclear Aegis Summits accept had a absolute effect, but the cardinal ambition of developing an able all-around nuclear aegis arrangement charcoal unachieved," the Nuclear Threat Initiative, an anti-proliferation watchdog, said in a address this month.
According to the group's Nuclear Aegis Index, which advance the assurance of weapons-usable nuclear materials, the accomplished two years accept brought no advance in a ambit of measures, including on-site concrete protection, aegis during carriage and the adeptness to balance absent radioactive materials.
The address aswell said abounding countries' nuclear reactors were accessible to online attacks. Seven of 24 countries with weapons-grade material, including China and Belgium, accustomed the everyman accessible account for their facilities' cyber security.
Other critics point to a abridgement of an agreed-upon set of all-embracing standards for nuclear aegis or a apparatus for befitting tabs on accepted sources of radioactive actual generally begin in hospitals and medical labs.
However, Laura Holgate, Obama's adviser on weapons of accumulation destruction, cited commitments from 30 countries at the 2014 acme to defended their a lot of alarming material.
"The all-embracing association has fabricated it harder than anytime for terrorists to access nuclear weapons, and that has fabricated us all added secure," she told reporters afore the summit.
"DIRTY BOMB" FEARS
Two of the Brussels suicide bombers secretly filmed the circadian accepted of the arch of Belgium's nuclear analysis and development affairs and advised an advance on a nuclear website in the country, according to Belgian media.
U.S. experts are beneath anxious about militants accepting nuclear weapon apparatus than about thefts of capacity for a low-tech "dirty bomb" that would use accepted explosives to banish radioactive actual and sow panic.
U.S. admiral said they had no agnosticism that Islamic State, which controls swaths of Syria and Iraq, was absorbed in accepting such materials, but Holgate said U.S. authorities had no "explicit indications" that the accumulation had approved to do so.
More commitments from apple leaders to enhance nuclear aegis are accepted at the acme but anti-proliferation groups anguish that after added affairs at the accomplished levels, absorption could abate and improvements could backslide.
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