Apocalypse ahead: everyone's talking about the film 'The Peacemaker' - but when it comes to nuclear terrorism, truth is scarier than fiction.

Summary

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Nuclear terrorism, at the heart of the film, 'The Peacemaker' is possible because of the easily accessed knowledge on bomb-making, the increase in amounts of fissile material, poor security around such materials, and the reality of global terrorism. The theft of nuclear material is discussed.

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Extract

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Apocalypse ahead: everyone's talking about the film 'The Peacemaker' - but when it comes to nuclear terrorism, truth is scarier than fiction.

This fall's Blockbuster movie "The Peacemaker" pits actors Nicole Kidman and George Clooney against a Bosnian terrorist headed for New York City with a grudge against the West and a backpack full of nukes. The duo's desperate attempts to prevent the bomb-toting villain from pulverizing the Big Apple make for an over-the-top, nail-biting thriller. But although Hollywood has taken its usual artistic license with the film, "The Peacemakers'"s central premise is less implausible than viewers may suspect--and far more possible than government experts and scientists want the public to know.

"I could build a fifteen-kiloton bomb in my kitchen--certainly powerful enough to kill a million people in the middle of Manhattan," says Ted Taylor, one of the chief weapons designers at the Los Alamos National Laboratories during the days ...

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