How to control nuclear weapons from system maintainer's viewpoint: (Mearsheimer)

The nature of the problem is that US security has been threatened by the theft of nuclear material and the creation of weapons that will be used by terrorists against the US. The terrorists are not a state, which is the prime actor in realist thought; nevertheless these terrorists are revisionists who challenge the hegemonic status of the US within the system by using the nuclear weapons to disable the US through the immediate and …

…weapons undermine the security and lessen the power of non-nuclear states. Furthermore, it would be necessary but difficult to convince the terrorists to be satisfied with the status quo and that the survival of the hegemon lies within their interests. Obstacles that might slow the progress of resolving this problem would include the possibility of terrorists striking before the US has been able to determine the location of the nuclear weapons and the terrorists' strategy.