Science and Technology to Counter Terrorism Proceedings of an Indo-U.S. Workshop (2007) / Chapter Skim
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3 Discussion of Terrorist Threats in the United States and India and Relevant Science and Technology
3 Discussion of Terrorist Threats in the United States and India and Relevant Science and Technology
Pages 21-30
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From page 21... ...
He also noted that there was still disagreement over the definition of terrorism; except for United Nations' Security Council Resolution 1373, which provides a certain operational definition, there is neither an agreed theoretical nor doctrinal statement as to the definition of terrorism. The last major effort to define terrorism was at a conference in Sharm-el Sheikh, Egypt, in 1995, and wisely, Narayanan added, people have not tried to hold another such conference.
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From page 22... ...
Raman noted that in Pakistan two scientists went to Kandahar and met Osama bin Laden and the leaders of al Qaeda -- it is just as important to study the impact of religious fundamentalism on the scientists who deal with missiles and nuclear explosives as it is to study the impact of fundamentalism on political leaders or the armed forces. Raman emphasized the ability of terrorists to improvise: they discovered 20 years ago that the Czechoslovakian explosive Semtex was difficult to detect, they used airplanes to deliver deadly attacks, and they used shoes to conceal explosives.
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From page 23... ...
How, he rhetorically asked, can we deal with a problem where one day a Tunisian-born al Qaeda terrorist plots a suicide attack on a NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) air base in Belgium, a Humbali in Indonesia carries out attacks all across Southeast Asia, and in Guatemala Bay a U.S.
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From page 24... ...
In a lengthy discussion of the suicide terrorist problem, Branscomb noted that the National Academies' (NAS) Committee on Science and Technology for Countering Terrorism spent some time arguing about the definition of catastrophic terrorism, with some members wanting a kind of mathematical description in terms of deaths and damage.
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From page 25... ...
But, he pointed out, it is true that suicide bombers can have a great advantage in penetrating a nuclear plant, for example, or in attacking a chemical plant, with results comparable to or more serious than those at Bhopal, because a nonsuicide attack would require the placement of an explosive at a particular point and the safe departure of the perpetrator. THE ROLE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY Narayanan argued that science and technology will have to play a much greater role in the future than in the past because of the extraordinary reach and the tremendous potential for destruction caused by terrorism; far from being a tactical weapon, terrorism has become a strategic weapon of those seeking mass destruction.
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From page 26... ...
The report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, also known as the 9/11 Commission, indicates that there were disparate pieces of information indicating some suspicious activity, but in retrospect, if all those pieces of information had been put together there might have been a successful forecast of a terrorist attack. There should be a group of people, including scientists and terrorism experts, who could prepare a list of terrorism indicators and share these with government agencies.
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From page 27... ...
Narayanan urged that even more powerful counterterrorism networks be established both within states experiencing terrorism and between those with populations of different religious persuasions and diverse societies. Strong networks between different countries have been necessary to control drug traffic, the flow of funds, religious and social propaganda and misinformation, and to exchange and analyze data and information as well as to exchange databases and ensure the universality of extradition treaties and mechanisms.
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From page 28... ...
He expressed his belief that the civil liberties issue had to be addressed with great subtlety and care, although he did not deny that the police and intelligence services need more ability to perform their duties. Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome and Grid Threats The group also discussed two events that might hold lessons for dealing with possible future terrorist attacks: the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS)
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From page 29... ...
Branscomb noted that Making the Nation Safer had a strong impact because it was released one week after President George W Bush changed his policy and decided to seek congressional approval for the creation of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
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From page 30... ...
His answer was that this will depend on whether or not the problem is looked at comprehensively, which was one of the tasks to be undertaken by the Homeland Security Institute. It was intended to be a decision support organization to convince the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security and other senior officials to look at the deployment of these technical fixes in the context of a realistic and comprehensive analysis, including the likelihood that terrorists will become more sophisticated in their attacks.
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