ABSTRACT
The threat of terrorism impacts all communities, large and small, in the U.S. and at U.S. facilities throughout the world. Events of the past have shown that no place is immune from the potential of a terrorist attack. Incidents have occurred in cities of all sizes, as well as in rural America. Both domestic and international terrorists have demonstrated their ability to strike almost at will. While the weapons of choice in the past have been explosives and explosive devices, chemical and biological agents have also been used. In the future, terrorists will almost certainly resort to weapons of mass destruction (WMD) including nuclear, biological, and chemical materials. Technology is improving, and terrorists are learning to use materials that are much deadlier than any bomb of the past. Materials such as biological agents are cheap and easy to produce without detection. Case studies of several acts of terrorism will be presented in this chapter. Most of the incidents mentioned occurred in the U.S. Some additional foreign incidents are mentioned to illustrate the ability of terrorist groups to use chemical and biological agents in addition to explosive devices used in previous incidents. It is also likely that these materials could be used in the U.S. by domestic and international terrorist organizations.
