Ideas Factory
If terrorists ever run out of creative and inventive ideas on how to strike new terror into the hearts of their enemies - which is actually most of the world - they need only read the National Review Online article by Clifford D. May on the potential of apocalyptic terror opportunities. Mr. May is not just some casual reporter, he is a seasoned veteran of international affairs, the founder and president of a policy institute in the United States focusing on terrorism.Not only is he the president of the Foundation for Defence of Democracies, he is also Chairman of the Policy Committee of the Committee on the Present Danger (CPD), an international, non-partisan organization based in Washington D.C. comprised of leading members of the national security community. In 2008, The Daily Telegraph (U.K) named Mr. May one the "100 most influential conservatives in America."
He knows, then, whereof he speaks. And in that particular article, he 'spoke' of many potentials, every single one of which if carried through to fruition, would represent a bold new terror initiative to shake up an already-fearful world. Mentioning first the calamitous reality of the Islamic Republic of Iran venturing ever closer to nuclear weaponization and what that might mean in terms of the potential for nuclear devices falling into the hands of terrorists.
This is a scenario long considered as a possibility, a nightmare scenario that would spell Armageddon. At the time of the dissolution of the Soviet Union when Russia had fallen swiftly into financial decline and its nuclear laboratories and installations lacked security and the world worried about the possibility of its fissionable material being sold, and nuclear scientists going to work for the highest bidder, that too presented a dread concern.
That did not quite materialize, but it is Russia, in large part, that has been instrumental in assisting Iran in building and financing its nuclear installations, even though Russia has declared itself unwilling to aid Iran in nuclear weaponization. Hard to believe that the Kremlin honestly believes Iran's sincere declarations that its bid to achieve nuclear sufficiency is for peaceful, civil purposes only.
The article goes on to list the potential for other means of mass terror, with dedicated terrorists making use of biological weapons, with the initiation of smallpox, Ebola virus or hemorrhagic fevers epidemics. It's also quite possible that some terror groups have already experimented with such dread viruses, and have themselves suffered the consequences, without the knowledge and infrastructure to ensure safe handling.
The use of 'dirty bombs', consisting of radioactive materials such as radium, radon, thorium wrapped about a core of explosives wreaking horrible damage within a defined area would most certainly inspire dread of re-occurrence elsewhere in the world, should such an attempt be successful. That's one way of holding the world to ransom of dread and terror.
A description ensued of an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) attack whereby a nuclear warhead detonated at a high altitude over a country would produce a shock wave sufficiently powerful to put military and civilian communications, power, transportation, water, food and other infrastructures completely out of commission. With the end result that millions of people might die of starvation or lack of medical care.
These issues were apparently thrashed out at length during a meeting convened in Washington, D.C., to consider the various ways in which terrorists might seek to impose terror through a well-planned, highly-technologized, sophisticated mode of attack at some time in the future. With the thought uppermost of being forewarned by the potential, and being prepared to counter any such talk.
At the very least, being aware, and having intelligence agents knowledgeable about such potentials, and dedicated to their detection and apprehension. One could be forgiven for wondering why such a high-level, important and disturbing set of scenarios would be set out for public consumption, as a matter of public interest. Why not, in the interests of security, keep such arcane, and fearful potentials out of the public eye?
After all if these ideas are so readily accessible for the information of the interested, the potential is also there that interested parties whose interest is less than academic can also make use of these ideas. Do we really need to take such elaborately helpful steps as to creatively advise those who wish to do us harm?
Labels: Technology, Terrorism
posted by Pieface @ Thursday, December 17, 2009
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