On 24 November 2004 the IISS hosted a Working Lunch with Dr. Graham Allison, Director of the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, who delivered a presentation entitled ‘Nuclear Terrorism: Is it actually preventable?’
In his presentation Dr. Allison argued that, given the seriousness of the increasing availability of nuclear weapons and their ingredients, and the many ways a terrorist could smuggle a weapon inside of state borders, a nuclear 9/11 seems inevitable unless new measures are taken. According to Dr. Allison, the center piece of a strategy to prevent nuclear terrorism must be to deny terrorists access to nuclear weapons and fissile materials by adopting a doctrine of the three no’s: no loose nukes, no new nascent nukes and no new nuclear states. Further information is available in Dr. Allison’s book Nuclear Terrorism: The Ultimate Preventable Catastrophe’ (New York, Times books, 2004).
The Working Lunch was hosted by Dr. Samore and included senior officials, experts, journalists, including Sir David Omand GCB, Security and Intelligence Coordinatior and Permanent Secretary, UK Cabinet Office, and William Ehram CMG, Chairman of the Intelligence Committee (JIC), UK Cabinet Office.
