Terrorist acquisition of weapons of mass destruction and U.S. national security

Weapons of Mass Destruction and the Next Terror: Assessment of How a Significant Terrorist WMD Attack Might Be Conducted by a Non-State Actors Perpetrator and Why They Can't Stage an Attack

Weapons of Mass Destructions (WMD) have considerable effect to the economies of both developed and developing countries. In the modern world, most terror groups have resolved to use Weapons of Mass Destruction to harm their enemies. The entire syndicate comprises state actors and the terror group, which intends to destroy the target country. The state actors have direct links or channels of communication with such attackers, foreign allies, and several residential alliances with almost similar connections to the terror groups. Most of the terror groups lack essential materials that would aid in the making of some of the most dangerous weapons such as nuclear bombs. The various forms of attack involved when using lethal weapons include dispersion, dissemination, and detonation. Apart from the overview of the topic, the paper seeks to examine and evaluate the review of Literature, the methodology, analysis and findings, and a summary of the fundamental arguments as well as conclusive remarks.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Introduction

2. Literature Review

3. Methodology

4. Analysis and Findings

5. Summary and Conclusions

6. References

7. Appendices

Introduction

The threat of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) falling into the hands of terror groups is one of the greatest challenges to U.S. national security. Such groups would use those weapons indiscriminately against U.S. homeland, partners, allies, or interests abroad. Terrorism has become a global concern particularly following the emergence of several terror groups across the globe

. Most of these groups feature prominently in most retaliatory attacks against their countries or allies. In the contemporary society, terrorists have embarked on making and using weapons of mass destruction against their enemies.

Hypothesis: If the U.S. intervened in an effort to regulate the amount of WMD made by its allies and non-allies as well as review its foreign policy on security, WMD, and terror groups, then incidences of terror attack shall reduce considerably. Since acts of terror results into massive loss of lives and property, the U.S. And allies have put in place mechanisms aimed at enhancing security of their territories and people from dangers of terror attack. Combating terror threats would call for identifying capabilities and desired end states relative to the Weapon of Mass Destruction menace (WMD), working closely with potential partners, identifying the relevant BPC means and ways, and developing a framework essential for assessment of the effectiveness of BPC activities and programs

Purpose Statement

Global security ensures protection of all economies from terrorists and criminals. It has facilitated the achievement of social, economic, cultural, and political programs and ensured such programs are safe. Terrorist attacks and asymmetrical warfare activities have hampered growth and development of several world economies. Retaliatory attacks from renowned terrorist groups have become a major threat to developed and developing countries. This has presumably consumed my studies on information concerning counter-terrorism. In the process of press conferences held by the terrorist groups responding to the efforts of the Veto Power nations, I proactively conducted my survey on situations and theories purported by several authors. According to Cordesman (2002), Terrorism Asymmetric Warfare and Weapons of Mass Destruction, I developed a vast spectrum of the importance of the enhancement of homeland security, especially by the U.S. In counter-attacking terrorists' plans prior WMD attacks. As proposed by the title, the assessment of WMD and the next terror attack is an exploration of provocative facets of study upon security. Arguably, my research pertains the possibility of a major terror attack, warfare tactics aspired to be used and the most likely area of target that terrorist groups opt to destroy, especially worth noting that the leader of the largest terror group, Al Qaeda, was brutally killed; Osama Bin Laden.

Problem Statement

Curbing terrorism in most nations has taken a different turn in events and methodology, especially when various terrorist groups have opted for mass destruction. Such WMD tactics of mass destruction are a threat not only to the target nations but also to the neighboring nations and the continent concerned. Technically, the economies affects become dysfunctional since operational activities on other key sectors such as education, infrastructure, trade and agriculture suffer adverse effects. Such is ill fated to most economies of the world prompting them to invest heavily on security of their borders as well as territories

Research Questions

While economies continue to grapple with security threats originating from terror groups, the making of nuclear, biological, or chemical weapons remains a reality. The first step would require that the U.S. national security in corporation with the UN Security Council embark on curbing illegal manufacture of WMD. Statistics has it that most countries in the Middle East engage in the illegal manufacture of these weapons which terror groups (majority from the Middle East) use in lodging attacks against the U.S., partners, allies, or interests abroad. The fundamental research questions prompting the study include:

1. What are the reasons behind rampant cases of terrorist attacks worldwide?

2. What challenges impede efforts of developing and developed economies across the globe to fight terror groups effectively?

3. What are the economic, social, cultural, and political upshots associated with widespread use of weapons of mass destruction among terror groups?

4. What policy and security measures would help curb the escalating rate of criminal and illegitimate manufacture of Weapons of Mass Destructions (WMD)?

Significance of the Study

Addressing the threat of proliferation of WMD, international cooperation, and interagency. If the current influx of terror groups using lethal weapons against their perceived enemies is anything to do by, then, security cooperation programs are inevitable towards achieving a coherent and peaceful humanity. Countries must embrace the economic, social, cultural, and technological abilities of other countries across the globe. It is high time the U.S., allies, and partners embarked on strategies that would eliminate disharmony and suspicion that has existed between them and their rivals for the past few decades

. Although every country has a right to demonstrate their technological and security advancements as well as improvements in other fields, they should not use their technological power to harm innocent neighbors. In the past, weapons of mass destruction have caused the world more harm than good. This was evident during the Second World War when countries that enjoyed sophisticated weapons such as WDM used them to ruin lives and infrastructure of countries that showed up during the war with little or no lethal weapons to enable them lodge any form of retaliatory attack. The nuclear, chemical, radiological, and biological weapons can kill or cause injuries to huge population of people or cause massive damage to the infrastructure of a country or region

Literature Review

Terror groups have now resolved in the use of weapons of mass destruction. The methodologies enhancing this new tactic involve several stakeholders from state actors with direct links with the terror groups, state proxies, extremists groups from foreign allies and several residential alliances with similar links to the terror groups. From research based information, and from arguable scopes from various authors, the new emerging trend of WMD have been instigated by a new wave of thought by the terror groups that constitutes of potential and grotesque threats and bolstering to enforcements of homeland security in the United States of America. The pattern that the next terror attack will follow especially in retaliating towards the U.S. territory is emergent since it forms a clear basis on the given form to be followed in pursuit of WMD and means to incorporate WMD attacks and the extent of lethality of the weapons on the target area.

A non-state actor perpetrator can conduct a comprehensible assessment yet it does not stage attack. Some non-state actors have nuclear ambitions and involve themselves directly as the actual perpetrators of terrorist attack. Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) have the capacity to inflict destruction and death on a massive scale. The presence of such weapons in the hands of an antagonistic power threatens peace and stability of not only the subject nation but to neighboring countries and the world at large. Modern weapons of mass destruction might fall into any of the three major categories namely biological, chemical or nuclear. The weapons of mass destruction featured prominently during the World War II, particularly in the firebombing of cities such as Tokyo, Japan, and Hamburg, Germany

Dropping of the atomic bomb in Hiroshima towards the end of the Second World War resulted to death of considerable number of civilians (66, 000). However, radiation injuries resulting from the heat of the single nuclear weapon increased the number of casualties to 140, 000 people by the end of the year. The Soviet Union and United States built stockpiles hosting thousands of nuclear bombs, the artillery shells, and missile warheads. Although the WMD remained unused at the end of the Cold War, the enormous stockpiles showed the level of preparedness of the U.S. And the Soviet Union. Chemical weapons comprised liquids as well as gases that suffocate the victims, upset the central nervous system, blister the skin, and poison the blood. Biological weapons include infectious agents such as fungi, viruses and bacteria. Bursting the biological weapons over a populated area might eventually result in the outbreak of deadly diseases such as plague, anthrax, or smallpox. A study conducted by the U.S. Department of Defense indicates a strong correlation between the country's participation on international relations and terrorist assault on it

The assessment might involve a range of states including states with stakes as well as those without interests. Even though countries would work toward realizing peace and stability of their neighbors, it is important for every nation to come on board during the process of charting the destiny of such countries. The short-term as well as long-term effects of terrorism affects both the innocent as well as culprits of terror. The Hiroshima incident is a typical case of how destructive an act of terrorist can be to states, countries or a continent at large . Preliminary results indicated that only about 66,000 people lost their lives due to the atomic bomb. However, the number shot up to a whopping 144,000 as thousands other residents of the city succumbed to the harsh effects of the weapon. It is high time countries corporate in the fight against terrorism in entirety

Terror attacks have devastating and overwhelming effects socially, political, and economically. From the social viewpoint, it is clear that outcomes of terror attack are dire to the physical and psychological development of affected individuals. Apparently, incidents of terror might impair their vision and hearing ability of the victims. The biological, chemical and nuclear weapons have the ability to inflict pain and further damage to the eyesight and the ear thus making it much difficult for the victim to see or comprehend whatever that happens thereafter . The assessment of attack by the terrorist weapon of mass destruction as conducted by the Non-State Actors Perpetrators is a critical as well as significant move. According to researchers in the field of terrorist, any acts of terror require sobriety among the affected states and countries involved in the rescue operations alike

. Many countries might end up using terrorist attack as a way of lodging a retaliatory attack against a neighboring state. Economic sanctions bestowed upon such countries together with short-term and long-term plans to forestall their economies might trigger a retaliatory attack in attempt to redeem its image from imminent collapse.

Several countries have faced countless challenges touching on their future prospects and corporation with their neighbors. The Threats that affect economic, political and social well-being of such countries might prompt leaders to initiate new strategies to ensure it redeem the respective economies from immense collapse. Collapse of such economies might further complicate lives of ordinary citizens. Acts of terror and violence among opposing camps are also responsible for the growth in the level of animosity between nations, especially those allied to the U.S. As well as the non-allies. The Korean Peninsula is a typical example of how the growing discontent and suspicion among manufacturers of weapons of mass destruction as well as countries that do not manufacture such weapons have further created differences. Such differences have substantial implications economically, socially, and politically. The U.S. together with its allies has discouraged North Korea from making weapons of Mass Destruction. However, the North Korean nation had not been willing to corporate towards shunning its plans to increase the volume of nuclear weapons

Although South Korea, a neighboring country has welcomed U.S. move, this has further split the Korean Peninsula. In essence, it has become clear North Korea and South Korea have gone ahead to declare war against each other in a move that would further create another impasse. Other reports indicate a looming crisis in the Middle East as Iran is alleged to engage in the manufacture of the Weapons of Mass Destruction. This has further split the Middle East along political and territorial lines

. The debate is pitting proponents of the move by Americans to discourage Iran from manufacturing such weapons against Iran supporters and sympathizers. According to many of its sympathizers, plans to manufacture Weapons of Mass Destruction are just a security measure against possible ambush by the neighbors and countries from everywhere. American allies however argue that such efforts as propagated by Iran only serve to create discontent, suspicion and confusion in the Middle East. Some nations may also read mischief and bias in the efforts thus abandoning their plans to provide support to America and its allies in their campaigns.

According to Wirtz and Croddy (2005), the option for the use of weapons of mass destruction can be linked to works of theorists, whose propositions issue the potentiality of WMD in causing assured destruction, deterrence (extended) and credible threats. In addition, game theorists inculcate mathematical assumptions in deriving to their assertions, an interesting cover up in the assessment of my research study. Prediction on the next terror is significantly based on the behavioral equilibrium depicted by the terror groups following the resultant implications of previous counter-intuitive.

The U.S. department of defense in conjunction with other law enforcement agencies is curbed by an enormous task of applying defensive mechanisms. These mechanisms ought to be critical in issuing critical assessments on the development of deterrence strategy from the defense forces. According to the game theory, the concept of off-the-equilibrium-path behavior capture the imperative trait of establishing the disparity in security studies especially in deterrence in the utility of weapons of mass destruction and the threats they pose.

The utility of WMD has interested terror groups especially from the intermittent emphasis on their abolishment by the international community. However, as Joyner (2009) asserts in his preliminary study on the proliferation of WMD, treaties by the weapons manufactures in ensuring unnecessary proliferation of the weapons. However, the terror groups have experienced intervention from several western powers, which has adversely led to disagreements to the contents on the treaties. Similarly, destabilization has been felt in states such as Iraq and Afghanistan due to the engagement of foreign policy issues that instigated the change of international and organizational decisions. It is due to this effect that evidence -- based research on the material highly on the use, target areas and forms of attack with weapons of mass destruction are determined in the assessment of the conduction of a WMD terror attack

b) Materials used

According to many scholars, terror groups are not equipped to acquire the required material essential in making the most lethal weapons i.e. nuclear bombs, which fit to be most destructive and feared universally. A lot of time, scientific personnel, expertise and material technology is highly regarded. According to Porterfield, the former Al Qaeda leader released a press statement through the communication cable of the terror group that he had a nuclear weapon, a sentiment that was disregarded by the U.S. state authorities in 2001. For the terror group, the acquisition of WMD is from buying fissionable materials that are used in the manufacturing of the weapons.

The science behind the pertinent materials is crude. The materials brought together in the manufacture of such goods are uranium, fuel rods and plutonium. Terrorists experience hardships in trying to seek and build the nuclear weapons using these materials. The development of the nuclear bombs involves chemical reactions involving radioactive reactions that pose risky to the terrorist prior hitting their targets.

In addition to the nuclear bombs, other weapons are also highly regarded as WMD and are also applicable in terror activities. The equality within the WMD status is due to the futuristic characteristic of large-scale destruction and indiscrimination of their natural effects. In relation to a research program on global security studies by Reed, chemical and biological warfare agents, missile technology, aircraft and ballistic delivery systems are other materials of mass destruction. These materials are an unprecedented constellation that terrorists use in destructing the process of global security. Response towards the usage by the United Stets and other nations has seen the increment of fear over the use of WMDs by terrorists, since the attack in 2001

c) Potential targets

The recent attacks together with the follow-up information from the U.S. department of defense and terror groups provides a vivid clue that the United States and its embassies all over other economies are the potential targets of terror attacks. This is due to the declaration of war on the host countries of the terror groups by U.S. militia

. In addition, the marginalization of Islamic religion in the United States is a perception that has reclaimed revenge from Islam faithful, who claim that it is in accordance with the ill of Allah to fight for their religion through the Jihad war. The possibility of the occurrence of another major terror attack ought to be within the U.S. territories or interests. Following the killing of Osama Bin Laden by the United States and the destruction of a major Al Qaeda base in Somalia by Kenyan troops, retaliation attacks are scheduled to enormously hit the two mentioned nations. Surprisingly, in 2001 and 1998 terror attacks were launched upon the U.S. And Kenya respectively, causing massive destruction. Consequentially, next terror attacks will proactively depict vengeance and massive utility of WMD. Investigation has attributed these weapons to the production of effects that allegedly spread beyond the targeted areas

Methodology

Data Collection

This research is a quantitative research, which calls for random sampling and use of structured data collection instruments that covers the diverse areas of research areas. The research data collection methods preferred in this research gives results that are easy to summarize, compare and generalize giving an informed conclusion. The data collection methods preferred in these research include observations or recordings, interviews, and obtaining relevant information from the relevant fields of research such as the law agencies and government research firms

Interviews

The questions asked in this research only consist of standard questions aimed at achieving the relevant information required by the research. Researchers may use face-to-face interviews, telephone interviews, and computer assisted personal interviewing depending on factors such as time and distance. For instance, since the research, area covers a large geographical area researchers may not be able to travel to certain areas calling for telephone or computer assisted personal interviewing. In areas where the respondents are reachable, face-to-face interviews work best

Observations and Recordings

Observation in this case involves checking and taking notes on the diversity of effects of nuclear terror attacks. Areas for these observations may include areas that have experienced nuclear terror attacks such as china, Vietnam, and Iraq among other areas. Observation involves looking at the short and the long-term effects of such attacks and adjustment to such effects by those affected. Researchers focus on the reactions to such attacks by people and the response from concerned authorities responded to the attacks (Creswell 2003).

Obtaining Relevant Information from the Relevant Systems

This involves acquiring relevant materials with information about the research topic, which in this case is Weapons of Mass Destruction and the Next Terror: Assessment of How a Significant Terrorist WMD. These materials may include documentaries, past terror reports, and police recordings of confessions from perpetrators among other materials (Stout, 2002). Getting access to these materials involves certain steps since they contain sensitive information accessible only by those with certain level of security clearance. It therefore calls for certain procedures to gain such security clearance. One may have to seek permission from the head of the relevant fields who owns such materials. For instance, the authorities may be federal agencies or other research institutions among others. The information or data collected from such fields are vital tools in the resource in the research since they give insights of past events making it possible for one to make future predictions.

Analysis and Findings

According to the findings, WMD include application of several forms of attack such as dissemination, dispersion and detonation. The study is critical for determination of issues affecting U.S. homeland security. Significantly, highlighting the possibility of the use of WMD by terrorist will not only raise concern from the United States only, but also to the international community in support of the maintenance of global peace and security. Defense and law enforcement forces also benefit from conducted research to provide more insights from researchers; hence being on the lookout for possible channels of insecurity. Prior arrangement and warning, as well as public awareness are some of the tenets that govern the conduct of citizens in attempt to ensure that each one play a role in state security enhancement

The research study/proposal conducted in this context emanates from exploratory designs. An incidental happening from witnessed terrorist activities is the basis of information retrieval. From the research, I conducted pertinent and informative inquiries from authors and other preliminary studies conducted by U.S. Homeland Security research stakeholders. I developed a sufficient comprehension of the problem presented in the study, which is the potentiality of the utilization of WMD in the dawn of another terror attack. The design follows a cyclical nature intended to provide an in-depth comprehension, conceptualization and follow up of coherent protocol in addressing the problem to provide recommendations and evaluations

Consequentially, suicide bombers are clearly conversant with the target areas in which they conduct the destruction. Eventually, the entire society and the world become a target of terrorist activities thereby suffer terrorist threats and extreme vulnerability resting upon WMD worst-case scenarios of conceivable mass destruction. The outcome of such attacks would be loss of hundreds or thousands of innocent lives and destruction of infrastructure

Summary and Conclusion

It is high time countries changed their perceptions toward their allies and non-allies involved in the manufacture of biological, nuclear, and radiological weapons. The U.S., in particular, should change its policy regarding the way it deals with sudden increase in the number of countries making such weapons

. Many countries especially those in the Middle East and Far East have embarked on making the atomic bombs, nuclear weapons, and chemical weapons among other weapons that endangers life of ordinary citizens

. Imposing sanctions as well as decision to lodge physical attack on deviant countries mat turn to be fatal, U.S. together with its allies should diverse on other strategies that are more binding. These entails holding peace agreements and explaining to those countries the dangers associated with the manufacture of such weapons. To avoid the feeling of bias towards certain countries and leniency towards others, standard international procedure should be in place to determine those with authority and that lack the authority to manufacture the WMD despite their economic and social power