Larry Clough

Indeed the stars in the sky and their constellations
no longer shine;
the sun is darkened as soon as it rises
and the moon does not shed forth its light.

Isaiah 13:10

Nune extinguitur
Mund(i) et astrorum lamen
Nune concipitur
Mali hominis crimen

'O Caritas' - Yussuf Islam (Cat Stevens)

Scope

The events of September 11, 2001 changed the world. The American public became aware that the US was not isolated from the social forces that had brought turmoil to the Middle East, and that the country was not strong enough simply to ignore its enemies. Those enemies were real and were intent upon doing harm to America in order to achieve their ends. In reaction, public opinion conveyed a mandate upon the political leadership to strike back, leading to two wars, considerable loss of life, and a significant erosion of personal freedom in the US. The reaction to 911 produced a "war on terrorism" which may have unintended side effects that will reverberate for decades.

One finding of Final Report of the 911 Commission was that the story of September 11th was predominantly the story of heroic men and women exerting individual initiative to deal with circumstances that few had foreseen or trained for. But now, every American is intensely aware that the world is an uncertain and dangerous place, that political leaders must be held accountable for developing and promulgating effective policies to deal with those dangers, and that every individual has a role to play in that struggle.

This site is an evolving outline of a summary of these issues with an emphasis upon the context for individual action. It is unfinished.

Issues

Dangers

Weapons of Mass Destruction

Dangers must be ranked in by severity and likelihood. The greatest severity of effect would be inflicted by nuclear, biological, or chemical weapons of mass destruction (WMD). While there are severe contraints which limit the ability for terrorists to acquire or employ such weapons, the outcomes would be so detrimental that they must be be considered first.

The most serious danger faced by the by the United States is the threat of nuclear terrorism. Terrorists could steal a tactical nuclear warhead from a site in the former Soviet Union, could acquire fissile material such as Plutonium or highly enriched Uranium from agents with access to former Soviet sites, or could acquire a bomb or bomb-making material from one of the emerging nuclear states, such as Iran, Pakistan, or North Korea. It is unlikely that terrorists could manufacture such weapons from raw materials -- such an effort would require the resources of a nation-state -- but stealing or obtaining such a weapon from a sympathetic state is a possiblity. On the order of 100,000 people died at Hiroshima.

Another serious danger is the threat of attack by biological agents such as smallpox, anthrax, or botulism. Obtaining weapons-grade pathogens is very difficult, now. However, advances in biotechnology are reducing the level of effort required to synthesize virulent organisms. Some agents, such as Anthrax are not contageous, but must be aerosolized for effective distribution. This would require field testing that would likely be detectable. If effectively weaponized, such a weapon could cause 100,000 casualties if released in a major metropolitan area. In a few years it will be possible for relatively modest research effort to bioengineer a contageous bioweapon. Such a weapon could kill millions.

Chemical agents are a lesser danger. Though they are easier to obtain than nuclear or biological agents, effective deployment of chemical agents requires more apparatus than is likely to be available to a terrorist cell. However, a large-scale effect could be achieved by causing an industrial incident by attacking a chemical plant or a train or truck transporting hazardous materials. Such an attack could produce thousands or tens of thousands of causualties.

Unorthodox Weapons

Terror itself is a weapon. There are weapons whose psychological effects are much more severe than their actual destructive capacity.

Dirty Bombs

A "dirty bomb" is produced by using conventional high explosives to long-term increase in deaths to cancer might be significant. Large areas could become contaminated. Decontamination would be very costly. Most important, would be the panic and terror induced by such a weapon.

Conventional Weapons

Explosives

Armed Attack

Snipers

Cyber-Attack

It is conceivable that a cyber attack could be launched on the US computer networks or the critical infrastructure that supports the electrical grid, banking, or industrial plant control. The effects could be quite costly to the US economy, but there would be relatively little direct loss of life.

The Enemy

State-Sponsored Terrorism

Islamic Jihadists

It is important to make a distinction between those who advocate an Islamic political solution, and those who call for Jihad, holy war, against the west. These two groups should further be distinguished from the vast majority of Muslims who wish to practice their religion in peace.

Home-Grown Terrorists

The Unabomber.

Timothy McVeigh

Policy Solutions

Individual Initiatives

Vote for candidates who will implement effective policies

Develop Technology

History

The site was originally created 28 October 1999, back when GeoCities was the most convenient means to obtain a low-frills toehold in cyberspace. The site was revamped on 12 September 2004.

Footnotes

These are footnotes for posts on other sites.

Mashaka's Henchling: This was an "actions" thread on a message board that became just too incomprehensible. It seemed to deserve a footnote.