For decades, the egg-heads at RAND have been thinking about the unthinkable. RAND’s recent report, Considering the Effects of a Catastrophic Terrorist Attack, examines the results of one such “unthinkable” scenario:
In our scenario, terrorists conceal a 10-kiloton nuclear bomb in a shipping container and ship it to the Port of Long Beach. Unloaded onto a pier, it explodes shortly thereafter. This is referred to as a “ground-burst” as opposed to an “airburst” explosion. We used this scenario because analysts consider it feasible, it is highly likely to have a catastrophic effect, and the target is both a key part of the U.S. economic infrastructure and a critical global shipping center.
What would the results be? Roughly 60,000 lives and $1 trillion dollars lost:
