Current popular attention being paid to the threat of chemical and biological weapons (CBW) use by terrorists may give the impression that this is a new phenomenon, but it is not. Most chemical and biological weapons themselves have a long history: the first chemical weapons were used in ancient Greece; biological weapons have been used in a wartime context since at least the Middle Ages.1Employed extensively in the first World War, notably in the use of mustard gas,chemical weapons have evolved very little in their technology since the midtwentieth century. Although recent technological advances in biological weapon shave been made, the vaccines and treatments available to deal with some of them have also advanced. Historically, most terrorist groups have avoided using CBW, inpart because they do not want to alienate their own constituencies, and in part because they have not had the technical expertise to turn them into effective weapons.2 Those CBW attacks that have occurred represent a small proportion of the total number of international terrorist incidents.3 CBW weapons have rarely been used by subnational groups…
Terrorist Motivations for Chemical and Biological Weapons Use: Placing the Threat in Context
- April 8, 2011
- | Filed under North America, Report, and 2001-2025
