August 17, 2008
Terrorism, WMD, and Emergency Preparedness
The terrorist attacks on the United States did not employ weapons of mass destruction (WMD), usually defined as nuclear, chemical, or biological weapons, but the scale of destruction and loss of life was indeed massive. Will terrorists try to acquire and use WMD? CNS studies of WMD terrorism have examined this issue in depth, and address the following questions:
Anthrax
See: Background Report
Will terrorists try to use WMD? How can we assess the threat?
Did Bin Laden try to acquire materials for a nuclear weapon?
What are the motivations for terrorist use of WMD?
See: the Introduction to Toxic Terror: Assessing Terrorist Use of Chemical and Biological Weapons, edited by Jonathan Tucker.
Why did the terrorists attack the World Trade Center?
Were chemical weapons used in the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center?
See: John Parachini’s chapter, “The World Trade Center Bombers (1993)” from Toxic Terror
How should the United States assess the WMD terrorism threat and allocate its resources?
See: Combating Terrorism: Assessing Threats, Risk Management, and Establishing Priorities
What is the United States spending to defend itself against terrorism?
Assessing the Risk of Chemical and Biological Weapons Proliferation to Terrorists
See: The Full Report, Jean Pascal Zanders, Nonproliferation Review, Fall 1999.
Terrorist Group Profiles
In light of the US focus on Afghanistan and the Taliban in connection with the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, CNS has developed profiles of selected terrorist organizations operating in Afghanistan.
