Nuclear Power Plants as Weapons for the Enemy: An Unrecognized Military Peril

In June 1981 a squadron of Israeli military planes destroyed a nuclear reactor under construction near Baghdad. Until then, few observers had imagined that one nation might attack another by bombing its reactors. Since then, the strategic debate has had to admit a terrifying new fact: a nation with nuclear power plants on its territory places weapons of potential mass destruction in the hands of its enemies.

A major nuclear power station or waste storage reservation bombed as the Iraqi reactor was bombed--that is, with conventional explosives--could contimate thousands of square iles and cost tens or even hundreds of thousands of lives. Nuclear power plants turn conventionally armed enemies into nuclear enemies and make nuclear hostages of entire populations.

In this book, Bennett Ramberg explains clearly, for both the lay reader and the technical community, the vulnerabilities of different sorts of nuclear facilities and lists reasons why they are likely to be destroyed in war. In a case-by-case analysis of countries using or building nuclear power plants, Dr. Ramberg shows that the safety of thousands could depend on such volatile factors as the psychological sensitivity of national leders and the direction of the wind. A combination of engineering changes, civil defense, use of alternative forms of energy, and changes in international law could lessen these risks; but until the danger is recognized, no change is likely.

This title is part of UC Press’s Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1980.

Dr. Bennett Ramberg (Ph.D. International Relations Johns Hopkins, J.D. UCLA Law School) is a nationally recognized expert on nuclear weapons proliferation, terrorism and international politics. Over the years, he has been a foreign policy analyst and/or consultant to the Department of State (Bureau of Politico-Military Affairs), U.S. Senate, Nuclear Control Institute, Henry Stimson Center, Global Green and Committee to Bridge the Gap. His academic appointments have included positions at Princeton, Stanford, and UCLA.

Currently Dr. Ramberg is a Los Angeles-based writer, foreign policy consultant and businessman. He also directs the Global Security Seminar which brings together foreign policy experts residing in Los Angeles for monthly dinner meetings at the UCLA Faculty Center.