09/03/2014
TERRORISM (last post)
*targets:
Terrorism often targets innocent civilians in order to create an atmosphere of fear, intimidation, and insecurity. Some terrorists deliberately direct attacks against large numbers of ordinary citizens who simply happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
More selective terrorist attacks target diplomats and diplomatic facilities such as embassies and consulates; military personnel and military bases; business executives and corporate offices; and transportation vehicles and facilities, such as airlines and airports, trains and train stations, buses and bus terminals, and subways. Terrorist attacks on buildings or other inanimate targets often serve a symbolic purpose: They are intended more to draw attention to the terrorists and their cause than to destroy property or kill and injure persons, although death and destruction nonetheless often result.
Despite variations in the number of attacks from year to year, one feature of international terrorism has remained constant: The United States has been its most popular target. Since 1968 the United States has annually led the list of countries whose citizens and property were most frequently attacked by terrorists. Several factors can account for this phenomenon, in addition to America’s position as the sole remaining superpower and leader of the free world. These include the geographical scope and diversity of America’s overseas business interests, the number of Americans traveling or working abroad, and the many U.S. military bases around the world.
*weapons:
BOMBS- Bombing historically has been the most common terrorist tactic. Terrorists have often relied on bombs because they provide a dramatic, yet fairly easy and often risk-free, means of drawing attention to themselves and their cause. Few skills are required to manufacture a crude bomb, surreptitiously plant it, and then be miles away when it explodes. Bombings generally do not require the same planning, organization, and knowledge required for more sophisticated operations, such as kidnapping, assassination, and assaults against well-defended targets.
FI****MS- Many terrorists have favored fi****ms, including automatic weapons such as assault rifles, sub machine guns, and pistols; revolvers; sawed-off shotguns; hunting rifles with sniper sights, especially for assassination; and machine guns. During the 1990s, terrorists increasingly used rocket-propelled gr***des and other armor-piercing projectiles in their attacks. These weapons, more powerful forms of the bazookas used in World War II (1939-1945), can pe*****te successive layers of ceramic and reinforced-steel that protect vehicles used by the police and military forces. Another favorite terrorist weapon is the hand gr***de or its homemade equivalent, the Molotov cocktail. This crude gr***de is made by filling a glass bottle with gasoline, stuffing a rag down the bottle’s neck, and igniting the rag just before tossing the bottle at a target.
CHEMICAL & BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS-
Chemical weapons can be divided into five main classes: incapacitating, choking, blistering, blood, and nerve agents. Incapacitating agents are the only deliberately nonlethal chemical weapon. They include the tear gases and pepper sprays typically used by police and other law enforcement agencies for crowd control or to subdue a person temporarily. Choking agents attack the victim’s respiratory system and hamper breathing, leading to death by suffocation. Blister agents produce large blisters on exposed skin that do not heal readily and therefore easily become infected. Blood agents, which victims absorb through breathing, enter the bloodstream and lead to convulsions, respiratory failure, and death as they shut down the body’s functioning. Nerve agents are especially effective. They can be either inhaled or absorbed through the skin and quickly attack the central nervous system, obstructing breathing.
Biological agents are disease-carrying organisms that infect people through inhalation, contaminated food or water, or contact with the skin. They include bacterial toxins, such as anthrax, Clostridium botulinum (botulism), and salmonella; plant toxins such as ricin; and viruses, such as tularemia, yellow fever, and smallpox.
SOURCE: Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2009. © 1993-2008 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
ADMIN: Jessa Mae Gonzales (GROUP 1, TERRORISM)
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