ABSTRACT
Nuclear war between the superpowers and worldwide nuclear war are only two forms of strategic conflict that might be sparked by nuclear terrorism. The wreckage of moral, spiritual, and physical well-being that would descend in the wake of nuclear terrorism must be made more visible if it is to be avoided. The threat of nuclear terrorism involving radiological weapons is potentially more serious than the threat involving nuclear explosives. Whatever form nuclear terrorism might take—nuclear explosives, radiological weapons, or nuclear reactor sabotage—its effects would be social and political as well as biological and physical. In the aftermath of a nuclear terrorist event, both governments and insurgents would be confronted with mounting pressures to escalate to higher-order uses of force. Nuclear terrorism could even spark full-scale nuclear war between states. Such war could involve the entire spectrum of nuclear conflict possibilities, ranging from a nuclear attack upon a nonnuclear state to systemwide nuclear war.
