Can We Deter Terrorists From Employing Weapons of Mass Destruction on the U.S. Homeland?

Abstract

Information discovered as a result of the current war on terrorism suggests a terrorist-led attack on the U.S. homeland involving weapons of mass destruction (WMD) remains a very real possibility. Some believe the U.S. faces its greatest WMD threat since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, but many discount the effect deterrence can have on terrorist groups. Deterrence, however, is an attractive option in the costs to implement a deterrence-based strategy are minimal when compared to defending the entire homeland or defeating all elements of a threatening terrorist organization. Little research, however, has been done to evaluate the effectiveness deterrence can have on a group bent on harming the U.S. with WMD.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Apr 01, 2003
Accession Number
ADA415856

Entities

People

  • Daniel Ciechanowski
  • Gordon Drake
  • Warrick Paddon

Organizations

  • United States Army War College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • C4I
  • Cyber
  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Engineered Resilient Systems
  • Space

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Aircrafts
  • Chemical Warfare Agents
  • Chemical Weapons
  • Employment
  • Homeland Security
  • Information Operations
  • National Security
  • Psychology
  • Radiological Weapons
  • Terrorism
  • Terrorists
  • United States
  • War Colleges
  • Weapons
  • Weapons Effects
  • Weapons Of Mass Destruction

Fields of Study

  • Political science

Readers

  • Strategic Security Studies