Understanding Nuclear Terrorism Is One Defense Against It

Tom Fudge: The possibility of the country of Pakistan falling into chaos is frightening because Pakistan is a nuclear power. But it's not the only country we're concerned about as it relates to nuclear weapons. The apparent efforts by Iran to create nuclear weapons have become a great concern to America and Europe, not to mention Israel. In fact, people who are concerned about nuclear proliferation imagine what may be the most dire situation: nuclear weapons in the hands of international terrorists.

But what are the chances that a terrorist would be able to cross a border with a nuke in his backpack? In fact, some people question whether Iran, itself, really has the capability to develop nuclear weapons anytime soon. We're going to spend a little time talking about proliferation and ask what we should reasonably worry about.

Guest

• Dr. Michael Levi, director of the Program on Energy Security and Climate Change at the Council on Foreign Relations . He is also author of the new book On Nuclear Terrorism .