Preventing Terrorism: Assessing the Nation’s Progress

“Unless the world community acts decisively and with great urgency, it is more likely than not that a weapon of mass destruction will be used in a terrorist attack somewhere in the world by the end of 2013.”

Congress established the bipartisan Commission for the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism to address the grave threat that the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction poses to the United States.

In December 2008, the Commission published its report, World at Risk, which recognized that the US government has yet to fully adapt to the current circumstance of terrorism and weapons of mass destruction and identified specific actions.

The Director of National Intelligence publicly agreed with the Report’s threat assessment, saying “we [the intelligence community] assess biological as the more likely and it’s better than an even chance in the next five years that an attack by one of those weapons systems will be conducted in some place on the globe…”

The Commission agrees and believes that the U.S. government needs to move more aggressively to reduce the threat of bioterrorism.

World at Risk identifies 13 recommendations for Congress and the Administration. In an unprecedented act, Congress authorized an additional year of work by the Commission to assist Congress and the Administration turn these recommendations into actions.

Bob Graham, Chairman

Jim Talent, Vice Chairman