New Face of Terrorism : Threats from Weapons of Mass Destruction

Anthrax, Smallpox, Sarin, blister, blood and choking agents...the list of potential weapons of mass destruction is enormous and varied. Today, the threat of these weapons to civilian populations seems as close as it has ever been. It was once thought that technological problems would prevent terrorists developing these weapons whilst moral issues would stop them using them. That has now changed. Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN), terrorism and the 'war on terror' are major features of international relations and global concern. Terrorist threats and actual violence have become increasingly dangerous and lethal since the 1970s. However, the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11th 2001 heralded a new era in terrorist action and was the culmination of a terror campaign against American targets world-wide. The New Face of Terrorism evaluates the continuing threat and counter-measures since '9/11' and into the 21st century. The technical and organisational sophistication of the attacks on New York and Washington heralded a new era in the age-old war against terrorism. While the mass-destruction of '9/11' has not been repeated there has been a steady, if small, increase in attacks involving CBRN elements, sometimes combined with 'conventional' explosives. The prime suspects have been al-Qaeda and its associates and there have been attacks in the USA, Britain, Italy and Spain as well as in theatres of war like Afghanistan and Iraq. The New Face of Terrorism offers a comprehensive and sobering account of possible responses to the perceived threat from weapons of mass destruction - both technological and political. It addresses the possible means of attack, as well as the quarters from which these might come: questions, since terror's victims are civilians, which affect us all only too directly.