WMD Terrorism: Introduction

Usama bin Laden: FBI's Most Wanted Terrorist
Source: www.fbi.gov

Since the beginning of the 20th century, terrorists have used a variety of tactics, including assassination, kidnapping, hijacking, and bombing, to achieve their goals. The September 11 attacks and the subsequent anthrax letters (later discovered to be a domestic attack) have focused renewed attention on the possibility of terrorism involving chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear (CBRN) weapons, commonly called weapons of mass destruction (WMD). Bombings in the last decade in Madrid, London, Mumbai, and Islamabad have further focused world attention on terrorist activity and the potential for terrorist acquisition of WMD.

Definitions

Terrorism. There is no single, universally accepted definition of terrorism. The word "terrorism" is usually used to describe violence that is political, social, religious, or ideological in nature and that is designed to influence an audience beyond the immediate target or victims of the attack. One widely quoted definition of terrorism is that used by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), which describes terrorism as:

"...the unlawful use of force and violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives." (28 Code of Federal Regulations Section 0.85)

Terrorism is not a neutral term. Governments often use it to describe their opponents and avoid it when describing their allies. This has led to the saying that "one person's terrorist is another person's freedom fighter." Countries have thus largely disagreed on an objective definition of terrorism, making it difficult to combat terrorism on a far-reaching, multilateral level. The United Nations, however, continues to make substantial progress in this effort, first by passing a resolution on the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy in 2006, and through its persistent efforts to engage Member States on the issue.

WMD. Although large-scale conventional weapons, such as the bomb that destroyed the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma or the airplanes involved in the September 11 attacks, are sometimes described as weapons of mass destruction, usually the term is used to refer to chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear weapons. Opinions regarding the proper definition are varied, with some experts believing that only nuclear weapons should qualify as WMD and others, notably Kofi Annan, suggesting that small arms should be placed in the WMD category due to the overwhelming number of fatalities they cause every year. These ideas should be kept in mind when considering the term "weapons of mass destruction."

WMD terrorism. WMD terrorism refers to terrorist use or threat of use of WMD.

Further Reading:

	CNS, Terrorism Page
	WMD 411, Anthrax Attacks and Bioterrorism
	WMD 411, Nuclear Terrorism
	NTI, CNS, BW Terrorism Tutorial
	NTI, CNS, CW Terrorism Tutorial
	NTI, CNS, Radiological Terrorism Tutorial
	NTI, CNS, Nuclear Terrorism Tutorial
	Proteus Trends Series, Marvin J. Cetron and Owen Davies, “55 Trends Now Shaping the Future of Terrorism”
	Council on Foreign Relations, Daniel B. Prieto, “War About Terror: Civil Liberties and National Security After 9/11: A CFR Working Paper”
	Foreign Affairs, Michael Levi, “Stopping Nuclear Terrorism"
	Multimedia:
	Carnegie Council, Graham Allison (Audio), Remarks on “Nuclear Terrorism: The Ultimate Preventable Catastrophe”
	The National Counterterrorism Center, “Counterterrorism Calendar 2009”
	MSN Encarta, “Multimedia: Terrorism”