Panel Charters

Panel IV: Understanding the Nexus of Proliferation and Terrorism

Co-sponsor: Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars

LEHRER: ... So it's correct to say, that if somebody is listening to this, that both of you agree, if you're reelected, Mr. President, and if you are elected [Senator Kerry], the single most serious threat you believe, both of you believe, is nuclear proliferation?
BUSH: In the hands of a terrorist enemy.
KERRY: Weapons of mass destruction, nuclear proliferation …

—Presidential Debate No. 1, Sept. 30, 2004

As time allows us to gain perspective on the events of September 11, 2001, many scholars have come to the conclusion that those attacks did not, in fact, change the structure of international relations. Instead, they highlighted the glaring vulnerability of free nations and ushered in a new era of danger for Western-style liberal democracies.

There seems to be agreement on the composition of this danger. At the first presidential debate in 2004, both President George W. Bush and Senator John Kerry recognized the “nexus” of nuclear proliferation and terrorism as the most serious threat facing our country. But what is this nexus, and how can we study it effectively?

This panel will attempt to provide greater analytical and policy clarity to this nexus between proliferation and terrorism. Perspectives will come from several critical areas. The depth of academic talent and practical expertise on this panel—composed of world-renowned terrorism experts, nonproliferation experts, and those who planned the American policy response to these threats—will help guide the discussion.

The panel will discuss the following questions:

  1. How might a terrorist group gain access to nuclear and other unconventional capabilities?
  2. What strategies can be adopted on the state level to deter the direct transfer or prevent the leakage of such capabilities to nonstate actors, such as al Qaeda?
  3. In fashioning these strategies, what are the roles of deterrence, military preemption (or prevention), and capacity building?