If you think it’s easy for terrorists to cross America’s southern border, you should see how simple it is for those already here to acquire radioactive material for a nuclear weapon. This chilling truth was revealed in a report released by the Government Accountability Office (gao) this week.

The report explained the findings of a recent undercover sting its agents performed on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the government agency responsible for overseeing America’s nuclear industry. The undercover operation was performed at the request of a Senate panel responsible for exploring security lapses in the way the U.S. government regulates radioactive material.

“By using the name of a bogus business that existed only on paper, gao investigators were able to obtain a genuine radioactive materials license from nrc,” stated the report. This license allows the company to purchase and store radioactive materials. “Aside from traveling to a non-agreement state to pick up and send mail,” the report continued, “gao investigators did not need to leave their office in Washington, d.c., to obtain the license from nrc. Further, other than obtaining radiation safety officer training, investigators gathered all the information needed for the license from the nrc website.”

The entire process took only 28 days from when the license application was filed until the license was issued. In less than a month, “gao investigators essentially obtained a valid materials license from the nrc without ever leaving their desks.” This fake company seeking a license to buy nuclear materials received barely any scrutiny from federal regulators.

It gets worse. Upon receiving the license, gao undercover agents made counterfeit copies of it, modified the wording to remove restrictions on how much material they were allowed to purchase and then ordered enough radioactive material to construct a dirty bomb.

In addition to these shocking findings by the gao, the Senate panel learned that the nrc has been issuing licenses for dangerous-level materials without even visiting the facilities of the companies making the applications. “The nrc’s first visit to the facilities could be up to one year after the license was issued. That’s like handing out a gun license and waiting a year to do the background check,” Senator Norm Coleman, a panel member, said.

The results of the gao sting should alarm every American. Surely they will light a smile on the face of any terrorist living inside America.

It is conceivable that a bogus company has already secured a license to purchase nuclear materials.

The gao report is particularly alarming in light of other intelligence reports this week showing al Qaeda has restored its operating capabilities to a level unseen since the months prior to 9/11, and is positioning itself to strike Europe and the United States. Though the gory details of September 11, 2001, might be fading from America’s collective memory, the brutal ideology that produced the events of that day is only growing stronger. The reality is, unless the U.S. is prepared to make some serious changes, it will lose the war against terrorism.