NCJ Number
191823
Journal
Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management Volume: 5 Issue: 2 Dated: June 1997 Pages: 98-108
Date Published
June 1997
Length
11 pages
Annotation
This article reviews the prospect of nuclear and biological terrorism and offers policy recommendations.
Abstract
This article examines the possibility posed by terrorists in the near future to gain access to biological and nuclear weapons. The former Soviet Union may have already allowed the diversion of fissionable material necessary for building an atomic bomb. Iran’s lengthy history of support for several surrogate-terror organizations poses an acute danger that rogue-state terrorists will eventually attain nuclear capabilities. Louis Freeh, Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, has identified the smuggling of nuclear materials as the greatest long-term threat to the security of the United States. Several counter-terrorism experts and arms-control specialists consider that prospective acts of nuclear terrorism are inevitable due to the widening availability of raw weapons materials. In addition, breaches in the matrix of international anti-smuggling customs controls and nuclear non-proliferation safeguards increase the likelihood that atomic bomb-making materials may fall into the hands of terrorists. Biological terrorism also poses a significant risk. A lack of effectively implemented controls on trafficking in biological pathogens makes the realization of this hazard even more likely. Several steps can reduce the dangers posed by the threats of biological and nuclear terrorism. First, imperiled nations must cultivate greater intelligence penetration of terrorist groups. Second, national leaders must foster the public’s realization that many lives will be lost if nations do not thwart terrorists armed with weapons of mass destruction. Third, state-led dirty war tactics (regime terrorism) that would undermine the legitimacy of those governments that are victims of terrorism should be avoided. Fourth, agencies must lead the public to understand that they may have to abridge individual constitutional guarantees to prevent terrorist activity. Fifth, government leaders need to remember that terrorism is a political, economic, and social phenomena that must be understood in that context. The moral and intellectual leaders of the United States have to awaken all levels of society to the dangerous threats of biological and nuclear terrorism. 1 note, references