Loading...
Please wait, while we are loading the content...
Similar Documents
Terrorism and the Weapons of Mass Destruction Threat to the United States
| Content Provider | Semantic Scholar |
|---|---|
| Author | Lowther, Adam B. |
| Copyright Year | 2008 |
| Abstract | Within the national security establishment there is a pervasive belief that the United States faces imminent attack from a terrorist network in possession of weapons of mass destruction (WMD). The question is not if, the question is when. Whether the attack will be chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear none can say, but few doubt that time is running out. This article challenges this view and suggests that the homeland may face less risk than Americans are led to believe. Why? All forms of WMD are hard to acquire and even harder to successfully deploy. This is particularly true of chemical and biological weapons, which are highly susceptible to environmental factors, making them an undesirable weapon. The greatest danger facing the United States comes from the potential detonation of a nuclear device in a major American city, but this threat has the lowest probability of happening because of the inherent difficulty of acquiring or building a nuclear bomb. In addition to the difficulties terrorists face in building and deploying WMD, we must also consider the political objectives such an attack against the American homeland would achieve. They are, in fact, few and would only serve to increase American resolve rather than force a change in US foreign policy. Since acts of terror are designed to achieve a specific political objective, even a seemingly irrational terrorist will be reluctant to use WMD against the most power military in the world |
| File Format | PDF HTM / HTML |
| Alternate Webpage(s) | https://www.arkpsa.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/MPSR/MPSR_v9_2007_2008/5-Lowther.pdf |
| Language | English |
| Access Restriction | Open |
| Content Type | Text |
| Resource Type | Article |
