Environmental Terrorism
Abstract
The willful and wanton destruction of the environment by Saddam Hussein in the Gulf War raised deep concerns over deliberate, conflict-induced ecosystem damage. A corollary to that destruction is the concept of environmental terrorism: the employment of violence or threats of violence against the environment for political purposes. This study examines the lack of a definition of international terrorism and its subset, environmental terrorism. The susceptibility of the environment to terrorist attacks is reviewed to determine whether the target audience of terrorism, the world's population, is sufficiently concerned about the ecosystem to care about a terrorist attack. The vulnerability of the environment to damage is evaluated and found to be vulnerable at the local, regional and global levels. The roles of various international, federal, state and Army agencies in combating environmental terrorism are reviewed to see if changes are in order. Finally, several recommendations are offered to thwart the threat of environmental terrorism.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 15, 1992
- Accession Number
- ADA249428
Entities
People
- James A. Walter
Organizations
- United States Army War College