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Availability of Chemical and Biological Weapons to Terrorists

Aliheydar Rzayev, Ph.D. - 9/11/2007

One of the defining aspects of modern terrorism is its thirst for cruelty and ability to deliver. If a quarter century ago, terrorist had guns, rifles, automatic guns and grenades, now their armament often exceeds armaments of fighters of counter-terrorist subunits.

In the near future we must expect the spreading of terrorism in different forms as:
- All kinds of air terrorism, including hijacking, using airplanes as weapons, various types of missiles including those used against to shoot down aircraft;
- Poisoning of water, food, medicine, sending out by mails with chemical and biological weapons/diseases;
- Use of chemical and biological weapons in places with a large population, such as subways, amusement parks and town centers;
- Acquisition of radioactive substances and "dirty bombs" or even nuclear weapons for terrorist attacks and/or blackmail;
- Attacks on nuclear objects, devices and atomic power stations causing ecological catastrophes on an unimaginable scale;
- Menace of demolition of dams and flooding of big areas;
- "Computer" terrorism, turning off means of communication, destroying of systems of electronic funds transfer, launching of viruses programs into the Internet, etc.

Some of these menaces have already been implemented: nerve gas in a Tokyo subway, use of civil airliners as weapons, mail containing anthrax. It is well known that terrorists attempted to poisoning of water pipeline in Chicago, use mustard gas and viruses of anthrax in Germany, spray radioactive substances in Austria. Underground laboratories were discovered in Paris where microbes of botulinus (200 grams, which is about 7 ounces, is enough to destroy all life on the Earth) were attempted to be produced.

It is possible to legally acquire all the necessary components of many chemical and biological weapons, and then easily assemble them using instructions available on Internet.

Naturally, that realizing of above scenarios needs special and unique levels of cruelty, extreme immorality and unscrupulousness - all qualities terrorists possess. Terrorism denies basic human rights: to be entitled to life. To terrorists, targets are irrelevant - children, women, the elderly, schools, residential buildings. As Adolph Hitler stated in his speech to the German Elite Guard: "I liberate you from such chimera as conscience".