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A Solid Education Can Help To Combat Terrorism

By Dan Sommer

Republish: EasyPublish™ Published: 29Jan2010 Word count: 746 Viewed: 497 time(s) Get Free Content For Your Site

To become proficient in national security issues, one should consider building a strong foundation with a bachelor's degree in counter terrorism or a bachelor's degree in protection management. This level of education is important to understanding and analyzing the complex subtleties of today's security environment. What modern multi-national corporation or government does not directly benefit from the expertise of qualified security analysts whose primary task is to protect their interests? Proper schooling in counter terrorism and protection management are means to achieve these objectives.

Nowhere is this type of education more paramount than in the context of fighting against the spread of terrorism, halting terrorists' radical ideology, and stopping the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) such as chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear weapons (CBRN). It's a given that terrorism is the apex of the myriad threats facing modern nation-states. No less dangerous are WMD, but now imagine terrorists armed with WMD. This is the global nightmare facing the international community these days.

Of particular concern are terrorists armed with biological weapons. Is a terrorist attack utilizing biological weapons a real threat? If so, is there a way to predict the circumstances under which it might happen or how it might be conducted?

This article presents a compelling case for why strategic, operational, and tactical analysis of information available on the state of bio-weapons development by non-state actors (primarily Islamist jihadists) is so important. Such terrorists seek to acquire and employ bio-weapons. A pathogen and a method of attack specifically designed to achieve the strategic goals of jihadists are presented as functional examples of the problem of the emerging global bio-weapons threat.

Counter-Terrorism Analysis of the Bioterrorism Threat
Although the United States has already implemented world-class anti-proliferation efforts and expended billions in counter-terrorism, protection, and regional preparedness funding, it is difficult to detect the development of biological weapons capabilities by terrorist groups, or even nation-states for that matter.

There are three main components to the development of most biological weapons: scientific expertise, pathogens and growth medium, and equipment. According to biological weapons expert Dr. Reynold Salerno of Sandia National Labs, "There's no good way to track or control expertise. There are few, if any, pieces of technology used to make bio-weapons that are not also used for some other legitimate purpose. There are a lot of pathogens naturally occurring and widely available for weaponization."

By and large, biological weapons are becoming easier to develop by individuals and non-state actors, either by indigenous manufacture, or acquisition and theft from any nation-state that has developed them. There is also the possibility of collecting pathogen samples from vectors that carry the infection during a naturally occurring outbreak. In 2006 and 2007, the U.S. State Department listed five legitimate nation-states that are known to openly support terrorist groups. Four of them—Cuba, Iran, North Korea, and Syria—have established their own biological weapons programs, in addition to the known bio-weapons programs of the U.S., China, Egypt, Israel, Taiwan, and Russia. There is evidence that some nation-states may be willing to assist non-state actors in their pursuit of this dangerous capability.

Equipment with which to develop biological weapons is now relatively easy to acquire, and the pathogens themselves are relatively commonplace. According to one source, it costs approximately $1.6 million using equipment that is commercially available to produce a viable biological weapon.

Hiding in Plain Sight
A facility dedicated to the development of bio-weapons does not require much space, nor does it have to be in an isolated location, surrounded by barbed wire and biohazard signs, as one might expect to find in a state-run program. The U.S. Government and other nations with an active interest in monitoring the capabilities of their neighbors collect intelligence on potential bio-weapons facilities. Even so, bio-weapons projects could be located in the center of a large civilian population, and no would be the wiser. The bottom line is that biological weapons easy to transport, easy to hide, and are virtually invisible to our current detection methods.

Conclusion
If this type of threat sounds like something that governments can fight against without a highly educated workforce, think again. A bachelor's degree in counter terrorism or a bachelor's degree in protection management can be a great asset to fighting terrorism and developing our country's strategy for protection. Critical thinking, cutting edge analysis, and deep expertise of WMD terrorism are critical to combat these dangers from manifesting in the future.

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