John Leifer

John Leifer, a consultant and writer based in Kansas City, Kansas, asserts in the following viewpoint that nuclear terrorism is a growing danger. According to the author, the collapse of the former Soviet Union has led to a decline in the security of nuclear storage facilities. As a result, maintains Leifer, Russian nuclear materials are highly vulnerable to theft by terrorists. Furthermore, he contends, information about the construction of nuclear weapons is easily accessible to terrorists. Leifer claims that the deterioration of nuclear security systems, along with the increased accessibility of information on weapons construction, vastly increases the risk of nuclear terrorism.

As you read, consider the following questions:

1. What four key developments does Leifer attribute to the increasing threat of nuclear terrorism"

2. According to the author, how might...