ABSTRACT
It would be patently absurd to attempt to assess the UK’s preparedness for future terrorist attack without fi rst trying to judge the nature and severity of the terrorist threats to the UK. These efforts to analyse the main threats are contained in Part II of this book. The editor opens with an assessment of the threat posed by the Al-Qaeda network. Taking into account Al-Qaeda’s stated aims, ideology, track record and modus operandi, he concludes that although it is by no means the worst threat to human security it is without doubt the most lethal and dangerous terrorist movement to have emerged in the history of modern non-state terrorism. This is because it is explicitly committed to mass killing, has global reach, has an absolutist ideology and has typically used coordinated no-warning suicide attacks which are extremely diffi cult to prevent. Moreover, although the Al-Qaeda network has suffered many severe blows during the ‘War on Terrorism’ it has shown that it can adapt and become stronger by exploiting changes in the strategic environment.
