Common questions and answers across academic disciplines

Nuclear War

The potential for terrorist use of weapons of mass destruction is currently much more a possibility than was considered possible just a few short years ago. During the Cold War era, most governments had a policy that centered on stopping other governments from using nuclear weapons. Now the focus of many government policies is on terrorist groups, and the individuals in those groups, who seem to be seeking weapons of mass destruction in order to create havoc and death.

This switch in focus does not necessarily mean that those same governments have taken their collective eyes off the nations that might also be seeking to develop those weapons, if anything, the focus has become even more sharpened. This sharpening of focus could be due to the fact that the governments that are seeking to develop those weapons house many of those same terrorist groups that would be used as the deliverers of those destructive forces.

Those groups, and governments, are also quite proficient in technology and it would not be surprising to find that they are also seeking ways to disrupt financial markets, the transportation industry and the daily activities of government through the use of cyber-terrorism. This technology, however, is a two-edged sword. By using computer technology, the terrorist groups leave footprints that savvy investigators can use to track them.

It is an ongoing battle between government and those groups and individuals who wish to topple that government.

Countries that would seem likely to use weapons of mass destruction include those countries that tout the fact that they are developing such technology. Two of those countries are Iran and North Korea. Of the two, Iran seems more likely to use those weapons, based on the fact that the leaders of Iran are so defiant in their language towards the rest of the world. Investigators for the United Nations, who monitors countries for such weaponry, have been misled, misinformed about intentions and even totally banned from inspections by both Iran and North Korea.