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In 2011, al-Qaeda head and founder Osama bin Laden was assassinated by U.S. forces in Pakistan. His death to many represented a resolution in the global war against terror. The philosophies of bin Laden had formed the foundation of a blossoming global organization that attracted violent extremists and that had focused its terrorist efforts specifically towards the United States.

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Terrorism Today

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State-sponsored terrorism is another perspective that may require attention. Iran, the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism, continues to undermine international efforts to promote peace and democracy and threatens stability, especially in the Middle East and South Asia, according to the U.S. State Department.

Since the Israeli-Hezbollah conflict ended in 2006, Iran has provided weaponry and financial support to Hezbollah in direct violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701, as Hezbollah continues to play a large role in destabilizing the Middle East.

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In 2010, Najibullah Zazi, an Islamist and lawful permanent resident of the United States who had been trained in Pakistan, pled guilty in a plot to detonate several bombs in the United States. The following year, Nigerian national and AQAP operative Umar Abdulmutallab pled guilty in a U.S. federal court to all charges against him regarding an unsuccessful attempt to detonate an explosive aboard a flight bound for Detroit.

These individuals that had direct ties to international terrorist organizations. But the potential for an attack by a “lone wolf” terrorist should not be ignored. An attack of this type would be extremely difficult to detect in advance.

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The same year also saw the deaths of Ilyas Kashmiri, a terrorist operative in South Asia; Harun Fazul, the East African leader of al- Qaeda, who had also masterminded the 1998 attacks on U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania; Atiya Abdul Rahman, a senior operational command and second in command after the death of bin Laden; and Anwar al-Aulaqui, chief of external operations in al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).

Blows such as these have weakened al- Qaeda’s scope and influence. Nonetheless, its supporters remain steadfast, retaining their capability to conduct regional and transnational attacks and constituting an enduring and serious threat to U.S. national security. Al-Qaeda’s rhetoric and ideology continues to spread to unstable regions of the world.

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Agroterrorism, defined as an intentional contamination of crops or livestock with the purpose of causing monetary losses, creating fear, or harming social stability, is often considered a subset of bioterrorism. However, it can incorporate chemical or nuclear agents as well. While agroterrorism can cause great physical harm to a targeted population, attacking the economic stability of the United States is a greater goal. Economic crises in the agriculture and food industries can easily result if the health of the nation’s animals and plants is threatened. Social unrest and a loss of confidence in government are secondary goals, just as they are with any other form of terrorism.

Topics to be covered include:

What is agroterrorism? The threat of agroterrorism today Food production and distribution Foot and mouth disease Other potential biological agents Non-biological agroterrorism Consequences of agroterrorism Preventing an agroterrorism attack

Lesson 5 Review: Agroterrorism

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The American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise. (2010). Incidents of Terrorism — 2010. Retrieved from http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Terrorism/terrorstats2010.html

Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism. (2011). Country Reports on Terrorism 2010. U.S. Department of State. Retrieved from http://www.state.gov/j/ct/rls/crt/2010/170266.htm

 

References

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LESSON EIGHT: CONCLUSION AND SYNTHESIS

If terrorists were to acquire and use WMDs, it would present an enormous security challenge to the United States. The far-reaching economic and political consequences and hundreds of thousands of human casualties that would be involved would impact not only U.S. infrastructure but that of the international community as a whole. Nonetheless, it may surprise many to hear that the number of terrorist attacks worldwide is on the decline. Over 11,500 terrorist attacks occurred in 72 countries in 2010, resulting in nearly 13,200 deaths—yet this number represented a decrease for a third consecutive year, dropping 12 percent from 2009. This fact suggests that the efforts of the international community have indeed been successful in curbing terrorism.

 

Topics to be covered include:

 

Terrorism today Lesson 1 review: The prospects for use of WMDs Lesson 2 review: Non-state actors’ experience with WMDs Lesson 3 review: Chemical weapons and threats Lesson 4 review: Biological weapons and threats Lesson 5 review: Agroterrorism Lesson 6 review: Radiological weapons and threats Lesson 7 review: Nuclear weapons and threats

 

Introduction

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The use of WMDs by terrorists is a major threat, and it is one that many Americans do not wish to think about, especially when the possible ramifications to public health, the economy, and every other aspect of infrastructure is considered. Nonetheless, the looming possibility that such an attack will have to be prevented or mitigated in the future should remain in the forefront of every American’s mind.

 

Conclusion

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Bioterrorism is simply terrorism that involves biological agents, which can take the form of bacteria or fungi, viruses, or toxins that are produced by living things. The range of effects that a biological attack can produce is broad. These agents may be used to target a single person, such as in the assassination of a world leader. They can also cause the incapacitation or death of thousands of victims, as well as posing a long-term threat to the population by contaminating their environment. The most effective biological agents are those that are difficult to detect before large numbers of people have been infected. Early detection, when possible, allows for early and specific treatment for those who have been exposed, even before they show symptoms, and also provides enough time to treat those who may have been exposed.

It has been shown that even an organization with technological capacities that are relatively primitive can create lethal weapons using diseases and employ them to great effect. For this reason, the use of biological agents by terrorists should be taken very seriously in the future.

Topics to be covered include:

What is biological terrorism? How biological agents are delivered Anthrax Plague Other bacterial agents Viral agents Toxic agents Detecting a biological attack 

Lesson 4 Review: Biological Weapons and Threats

KEY TERMS

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Nuclear weapons are devices designed to create massive explosions through the release of nuclear energy, typically through the processes of nuclear fission and fusion. Only used twice in warfare, nuclear weapons are capable of destroying all life as we know it, a fact that illustrates the importance of keeping them out of the hands of non-state actors. However, at the same time the knowledge and materials required to construct a sophisticated nuclear device have put this class of weapons outside of the grasp of terrorists.

Radioactive fallout will begin to set in within a few days after a nuclear attack. Symptoms of high radioactive fallout exposure may include hair loss, bleeding from the mouth and gums, internal bleeding and diarrhea, ulcers, vomiting, fever, delirium, and terminal coma, with death following in a matter of days. If the exposure levels are lower, short-term survival may be a greater possibility, but not without complications. If a terrorist group were to manage to obtain enough weapons-usable nuclear material, recruit or develop the technological expertise necessary, and produce the finished weapon in complete secrecy, it would be possible for them to construct their own weapons.

Topics to be covered include:

What is a nuclear weapon? Fission weapons Fusion weapons Other types of nuclear weapons Deployment Effects of nuclear weapons Potential use by terrorists Efforts to prevent nuclear terrorism

Lesson 7 Review: Nuclear Weapons and Threats

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A radiological weapon, or radiological dispersion device (RDD), disperses radioactive material and is designed to kill or, more likely, cause disruption. A group or country attempting to create terror may seek out radioactive materials to combine with high explosives. The explosives would propel radioactive materials within a desired area. Designed for implementation in highly congested population centers damage and the explosive materials combined with radioactivity would cause disruption. Additionally, certain substances can be utilized to increase the radioactive fallout depending upon what is used and how it is deployed.

A common type of RDD is what is called a “dirty bomb,” which is designed to spread radioactive material through passive (aerosol) or active (explosive) means. The dose of radiation that a victim of a dirty bomb would be exposed to would probably be less than the typical dose each person receives every year from the sun and other sources. City and state officials, on the other hand, have much more to fear from radiological weapons. The negative consequences that may result from panic would almost certainly do more harm than the deployment of the weapon itself. This panic could cause traffic accidents, dangerous rushes to evacuate, and stress and anxiety-related health problems for potentially millions of people. This particular risk illustrates the importance of knowing and understanding the capabilities and limitations of RDDs.

Topics to be covered include:

What is a radiological weapon? Sources for radioactive materials How radiological weapons are transported and deployed Dirty bombs Sabotage as terrorism The effects of radiological weapons

Lesson 6 Review: Radiological Weapons and Threats

KEY TERMS

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For this reason, a persistent threat endures that reaches beyond recognized al-Qaeda organizations. While not a formal al-Qaeda affiliate, the group known as Boko Haram launched widespread attacks across Nigeria, including one in 2011 against the United Nations headquarters in Abuja, producing the fear that they may venture beyond Nigerian targets. A number of loosely knit militant groups have formed in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula as well, some of which have claimed ties and allegiance to al-Qaeda.

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In this lesson, you learned about weapons of mass destruction, which include nuclear, chemical, biological, radiological, explosive, and disruptive weapons. Nuclear weapons, using nuclear fusion or nuclear fission, are the most dangerous types of WMDs. Nuclear bombs can produce blasts that can destroy structures within a radius of several miles, as well as extreme heat that can create firestorms and intense white light that can cause blindness. Chemical weapons can take the forms of liquids, vapors, gases, aerosols, or powder and fall in four main categories: nerve, choking, blood, and blister agents. Biological weapons spread toxins and microorganisms, such as viruses and bacteria, in order to inflict disease among people, animals, and agriculture. Biological attacks cannot only directly disable and kill but can also destroy crops, which may temporarily debilitate an entire community. Radiological weapons, sometimes called “dirty bombs” or radioactive dispersal devices, spread radioactive material when detonated, contaminating the area where they explode. These weapons use the same types of agents as nuclear weapons but do not employ fission or fusion processes.

Still others prefer another term, CBRNE (chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and enhanced explosive) weapon. This category includes other types of non-nuclear, non-radioactive explosive devices, which to some qualify as weapons of mass destruction. Some experts choose to classify radiological weapons not as WMDs, but as weapons of mass disruption. With some weapons that meet the CBRN, CBRNE, and CBRN/E definitions of WMDs describing weapons that do not even cause mass destruction, it might make sense to classify weapons as WMDs on the basis of the amount of destruction they are capable of causing. The definition of the term is only one of many challenges that will be faced as the world moves forward in the destruction and

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Topics to be covered include:

What are WMDs? Nuclear weapons Chemical weapons Biological weapons Radiological weapons Explosive weapons Disruptive weapons WMDs in the world today

Lesson 1 Review: The Prospects for Use of WMDs

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Generally speaking, terrorism has an extremely negative connotation, and one universally associated with death and destruction. Terrorists murder innocent people in cold blood, egregiously violating the civil rights and freedoms of American men, women, and children. Terrorists often claim that they are oppressed, perhaps due to some financial or sociological connotation, and among the lower echelons of larger terrorist groups there may be some credence to this claim. Only a few of the hundreds of terrorist attacks that have occurred over the last century have involved WMDs. Nonetheless, the possibility of a WMD-related terrorist attack is a grave threat to national security. There are ways in which a terrorist organization could access chemical, biological, or even nuclear weapons in order to build a weapon for such an attack.

Topics to be covered include:

Terrorism in the twenty-first century Past uses of WMDs by terrorists How terrorists might access WMDs Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State Presidential Decision Directive 39 WMDs and the National Response Framework The Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism (GICNT) The future of WMD-related terrorism

Lesson 2 Review: Non-State Actors’ Experience with WMDs

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Chemical terrorism is somewhat different from the use of chemical warfare agents (CWA). This designation includes conventional explosives and toxic chemicals such as choking agents, blood agents, and blister agents as well as the by-products of their manufacture. CWAs, on the other hand, are chemicals used in military operations to kill, injure, or incapacitate. Toxic industrial materials (TIMs) can also pose a risk, sometimes producing the same devastation as a CWA.

Terrorists have had a strong interest in chemical weapons for a very long time, but today more attention has been brought to this subject than ever before. The next chemical attack may very well impact civilian populations, and whether these populations are prepared will determine its severity. While conventional CWAs and the weapons that employ them may remain off-limits for many terrorists, when TIMs and homemade weapons are considered the potential future chemical threat is as wide ranging as the imaginations (and budgets) of our terrorist enemies.

Topics to be covered include:

What is chemical terrorism? Nerve agents Blister agents (vesicants) Blood agents Choking/lung/pulmonary agents Incapacitation/riot control agents Toxic industrial materials (TIMs) Homemade chemicals

Lesson 3 Review: Chemical Weapons and Threats

KEY TERMS

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