Obama Warns of Terrorist Nuke Threat

President Obama warned of the nuclear weapons threat posed by terrorists on the eve of an international summit on nuclear security in Washington. The leaders of nearly 50 countries meet today to discuss how best to secure unaccounted-for nuclear materials, ABC News reports. “We know that organizations like al Qaeda are in the process of trying to secure a nuclear weapon, a weapon of mass destruction that they have no compunction at using," Obama said.

"if there was ever a detonation in New York City, or London, or Johannesburg, the ramifications economically, politically, and from a security perspective would be devastating," he added. The two-day summit is the third event in the last week aimed at reducing nuclear weapons. Last week Obama issued a new policy on nuclear deterrence and signed a disarmament treaty with Russian President Dmitri Medvedev. (More nuclear weapons stories.)