Obama Spells Out Dangers of Terrorists Getting Hands on Insecure Nuclear Material

— -- President Barack Obama addressed more than 50 world leaders at the Nuclear Security Summit today, where he spelled out the risks of insecure nuclear material finding its way into the hands of terrorists.

“At hundreds of military and civilian facilities around the world, there is still roughly 2,000 tons of nuclear materials and not all of this is properly secured. And just the smallest amount of plutonium, about the size of an apple, could kill and injured hundreds of thousands of innocent people,” Obama said. “It would be a humanitarian, political, economic and environmental catastrophe with global ramifications for decades. It would change our world.”

Obama noted that in recent years the nations gathered at the NSS had “measurably reduced the risk” of nuclear terrorism, and said “no terrorist group has succeeded thus far in obtaining a nuclear weapon or dirty bomb made of radioactive materials.”

However, he mentioned al-Qaeda’s efforts to obtain nuclear materials as well as the Brussels attackers reportedly videotaping a worker at a Belgian nuclear facility as evidence that nations must double down on their efforts to secure their nuclear material.

“There is no doubt that if these mad men ever got their hands on a nuclear bomb or nuclear material they most certainly would use it to kill as many innocent people as possible,” Obama said.

Later today, Obama will chair the closing session of the NSS specifically focused on the counter-ISIS campaign.