The Convention on the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism: An Old Solution to a New Problem
![handle is hein.journals/geojintl39 and id is 533 raw text is: THE CONVENTION ON THE SUPPRESSION OF
ACTS OF NUCLEAR TERRORISM: AN OLD
SOLUTION TO A NEW PROBLEM
PAIGE WILLAN*
INTRODUCTION
In The Sum of All Fears, the President of the United States gives the
order to strike Russia with nuclear missiles hours after a nuclear device
explodes in Baltimore and the viewer's pulse races as a CIA analyst
valiantly attempts to broker a stand-down between the Russian Presi-
dent and the President of the United States before time runs out.' This
scenario, while dramatized by Hollywood, could come very close to
becoming reality if a nuclear terrorist attack occurred in the United
States. Nurtured by years of the Cold War and recent terrorist events,
fears of nuclear terrorism are consistently high among Americans,
indicating that reaction to an attack might be swift and decisive.2 Like
other terrorist threats, this threat requires both domestic and interna-
tional action to prevent its occurrence. As The Sum ofAllFears shows, the
global community cannot rely on luck alone to prevent a nuclear
terrorist attack, nor can it rely on the chance that a dedicated public
servant will prevent collateral damage if a nuclear terrorist attack does
occur.
Both the United States government and international institutions
have attempted to address this fear in a number of ways, including
through the conclusion of treaties dealing with terrorism in general
and nuclear terrorism in particular. Beginning in 1963, the United
Nations addressed the issue of international terrorism through a series
of multilateral treaties.3 The International Convention for the Suppres-
sion of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism (NTC) represents the latest develop-
ment in this effort.4
Despite hopes that the NTC exhibits international dedication to
* Georgetown University Law Center,J.D. 2008. © 2008, Paige Willan.
1. THE SUM OF ALL FEARS (Paramount Pictures 2002).
2. See KERRY G. HERRON & HANK C. JENKINS-SMITH, CRITICAL MASSES AND CRMCAL CHOICES:
EVOLVING PUBLIC OPINION ON NUCLEAR WEAPONS, TERRORISM, AND SEcUtrY 66-67 (2006).
3. SeeG.A. Res. 51/210, 6, U.N. Doc. A/RES/51/210 (Jan. 16, 1997).
4. United States Supports GeneralAssembly Approval ofNew Gonvention against Nuclear Terrorism, 99
AM.J. INT'L L. 712, 713 (2005) [hereinafter Am.j INT L]](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.journals/geojintl39&div=23&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
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The Convention on the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism: An Old Solution to a New Problem
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