Terrorist Threats

The possibility of a terrorist attack involving weapons of mass destruction (WMD) - chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear (CBRN), or large explosive weapons - has never been greater.

While most terrorists continue to rely on conventional explosives, shootings and kidnapping, the most extreme continue to seek to acquire weapons of mass destruction in order to inflict the maximum number of casualties. Thousands would die but such an attack would strike fear and terror in millions more.

Today's threats:

• Chemical Weapons

• Biological Weapons

• Nuclear and Radiological Weapons and Dirty Bombs

Terrorist Groups

Terrorist groups have proliferated in the last 10 years. The U.S. State Department has listed more than 80 Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs) although there are hundreds more operating in collaboration with these FTOs or independent of them. In Iraq , for instance, more than 100 groups have claimed responsibility for terrorist attacks although most of these were unknown to the authorities until their claims were first aired. How many of these groups actually exist is unknown. What is known is that there are scores of terrorist groups whose main intent is to destroy the United States , its citizens and its way of life. The main terrorist groups include:

• Abu Nidal Organization

• Al Qa'ida