The Terrorist Threat and Its Implications for Sensor Technologies

Recent terrorist attacks demonstrated that even sophisticated terrorists capable of planning and executing multiple, coordinated attacks continue to rely on traditional weapons rather than risk the uncertainty of chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear (CBRN) weapons. While some terrorist organizations have the motivations and capabilities to conduct large attacks worldwide, we have not yet witnessed the use of so called weapons of mass destruction (WMD) foreshadowed by the 1995 Sarin attacks in Tokyo, the discovery of al Qaeda’s crude biological weapons program in Afghanistan, and the anthrax attacks in the United States in the fall of 2001. Anti-Western extremists pose a global threat, but what do the use of traditional weapons and innovative tactics mean for the future of terrorism? This chapter describes our current understanding of the global terrorist threat including the use of CBRN weapons. A discussion of the implications for sensor research, particularly for chemical and biological agents and radioactive materials then