Terrorist Use of Weapons of Mass Destruction Within the United States: Asymmetric Warfare Paradigm in the 21st Century.

Abstract

Abstract : The use of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) by terrorists within the United States presents a clear and present danger to national security. In virtually every region of the world, nation states are arming themselves with WMD. Coupled to the rising spread of WMD is the growing list of nations sponsoring worldwide terrorism. The proliferating nature of this combined threat of WMD and terrorism is changing the paradigm of asymmetrical warfare as we approach the new millennium. Reviewing the U.S. Government responses to terrorism and WMD reveals a fragmented framework that addresses these threats separately, without one federal agency in the lead. The world witnessed this new paradigm of asymmetrical attack when the Japanese religious cult, Aum Shinrikyo or Supreme Truth, attacked the Tokyo subway system using the chemical nerve agent Sarin on 20 March 1995. The Department of Defense should take action and assign this critical mission to a Joint WMD response force to support the federal, state and local crisis response framework.