Following the September 11 terrorist attacks on the United States , fresh attention was focused on al-Qaeda ’s desire for weapons of mass destruction but with more urgency than in the past . A serious concern was that al-Qaeda terrorists might attempt to obtain Russian warheads or weapon-usable nuclear materials . Former GRU Colonel Stanislav Lunev ’s 1998 statements were resurrected following the attacks . During an appearance on CBS , Lunev reasserted his claim that suitcase bombs existed , even going so far as to claim that bin Laden had obtained several of the devices from the former Soviet Union . In the same segment , Michael O’Hanlon of the Brookings Institution discounted Lunev ’s claims : “ Our view is that this is not a major worry . If those devices ever existed , they were under the control of the Soviet state , and not available to terrorists . ” On December 20 , 2001 UPI reported that the FBI had stepped up its investigation into terrorist access to Russian nuclear stockpiles . Representative Weldon , once again at the forefront of the debate , stated “ Do I think he bin Laden has a small atomic demolition munitions , which were built by the Soviets in the Cold War ? Probably doubtful . ” On January 17 , 2002 , Russia ’s Atomic Energy Minister , Aleksandr Rumyantsev , told Interfax it would be impossible for terrorists to construct a portable nuclear weapon , citing a lack of “ necessary potential and materials . ” The Interfax report went on to state “ major nuclear powers have an effective system of control over miniature nuclear charges , which weigh a total of several dozen kilograms . ” According to Rumyantsev “ all of these miniature nuclear devices are registered … it is technically impossible for such charges to find their way into the hands of terrorists . ”
September 11 terrorist attacks
September 11 attacks
Atomic demolition munition