The big gorilla in the basement

"The big gorilla in the basement" is what Robert L. Gallucci, dean of the Georgetown School of Foreign Service and a classified consultant to the CIA and Energy Department laboratories, calls nuclear material from Russia and Pakistan. In fact, half of the world's stockpile if plutonium and enriched uranium is in Russia, according to the Washington Post.

Securing such nuclear materials is, as Bush would say, "hard work." And dangerous work. Bush has let two of the major programs lapse, in fact, because Russia refused to accept a clause in the agreement that would protect U.S. firms from liability for worker safety. He also cut budget requests for securing foreign nuclear materials by 9 percent ($41 million).

Do we face a serious threat from the nuclear stockpiles of Russia and Pakistan? Gallucci, an arms control specialist, says we do. Add this situation to the long list of things Bush does which are directly opposite of what he says.