Concerns rose that al-Qaeda was developing an improvised nuclear weapon, which thrust nuclear terrorism to the forefront of nuclear security policy. [5] Long gone were the days of nuclear attack drills and fear of impending nuclear war with another superpower. [6] With a nuclear war between great powers out of the question in the minds of most policymakers, the threat of nuclear terrorism became the primary concern. Long Forgotten: The Decline in PreparednessAmerican concern for a domestic nuclear attack atrophied. Modern warfare experts thought that future conflicts would be fought purely as such, not with nuclear force, so it seemed that the nuclear attack threat had gone to the grave for good.

Source: Washington Post June 15, 2022 04:06 UTC