USA Today has an article titled: Experts Close the Lid on 'Suitcase Nukes'. It quotes a few experts in making the point that a nuclear bomb that can be carried in a suitcase by one man is highly unlikely. I suppose the article was prompted by the currently running "24" season in which Jack Bauer is trying to catch some terrorists with suitcase nukes.

The experts are probably right, but so what if they are? Do they think terrorists are going to abandon their mission because they can't fit their bomb into a suitcase? They don't have to get a nuke inside a building to wreak havoc; they just have to get it inside or very near a city. They can transport it inside a small truck or large SUV. Today the size of the device is not the limiting issue. The limiting issue is the availability of the materials and expertise.

The suitcase nuke threat is a creation of Hollywood and the media. It is not a real-world issue. Don't feel safer because you know that nuclear bombs can't be carried in suitcases.

---