“We are always just one successful terrorist attack away from a nuclear disaster”
Fred Thompson (1942–2015) American politician and actor
[Iowa Campaign Speech "Hands Down", Thompson, Fred, 2007-12-18, Days Inn - Manchester, Iowa]
Nobel lecture (2005)
Context: Since the Chernobyl accident, we have worked all over the globe to raise nuclear safety performance. And since the September 2001 terrorist attacks, we have worked with even greater intensity on nuclear security. On both fronts, we have built an international network of legal norms and performance standards. But our most tangible impact has been on the ground. Hundreds of missions, in every part of the world, with international experts making sure nuclear activities are safe and secure.
I am very proud of the 2,300 hard working men and women that make up the IAEA staff — the colleagues with whom I share this honour. Some of them are here with me today. We come from over 90 countries. We bring many different perspectives to our work. Our diversity is our strength.
We are limited in our authority. We have a very modest budget. And we have no armies.
But armed with the strength of our convictions, we will continue to speak truth to power. And we will continue to carry out our mandate with independence and objectivity.
“We are always just one successful terrorist attack away from a nuclear disaster”
Fred Thompson (1942–2015) American politician and actor
[Iowa Campaign Speech "Hands Down", Thompson, Fred, 2007-12-18, Days Inn - Manchester, Iowa]
Barack Obama (1961) 44th President of the United States of America
2011, Address on the natural and nuclear energy disasters in Japan (March 2011)
Hillary Clinton (1947) American politician, senator, Secretary of State, First Lady
Senate speech (10 October 2002) http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=2002_record&docid=cr10oc02-70 <br class="br">Senate years (2001 – January 19, 2007)
Kent Hovind (1953) American young Earth creationist
Creation seminars (2003-2005), Lies in the textbooks
George Soros (1930) Hungarian-American business magnate, investor, and philanthropist
"How Terrorism's Victims Became Perpetrators" (April 2004) http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/soros26
Mohamed ElBaradei (1942) Egyptian law scholar and diplomat, former Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, and Nobel …
Nobel lecture (2005)
Context: As long as some of us choose to rely on nuclear weapons, we continue to risk that these same weapons will become increasingly attractive to others.
I have no doubt that, if we hope to escape self-destruction, then nuclear weapons should have no place in our collective conscience, and no role in our security.
To that end, we must ensure — absolutely — that no more countries acquire these deadly weapons.
We must see to it that nuclear-weapon states take concrete steps towards nuclear disarmament.
And we must put in place a security system that does not rely on nuclear deterrence.
Margaret Thatcher book Statecraft: Strategies for a Changing World
Source: Statecraft: Strategies for a Changing World, p. 49
Charles Perrow (1925–2019) American sociologist
Source: 1970s, Complex organizations, 1972, p. 133