Past Terrorist Use of Weapons of Mass Destruction Research Paper

Past Terrorist Use of Weapons of Mass Destruction - Research Paper Example Terrorism is a multi-causal phenomenon (Sommer, 2010) and involves a combination of varied factors including psychological, social, cultural, political, economic, as well as religious. Hence explaining the action in a concise and restricted definition would be highly erroneous and disillusioning. For the purpose of this study the term WMD would be defined to include any act of terrorism by an individual or an organization carried out on a large scale using chemical, biological or other weapons intended to cause irreparable damage to the property and lives of human beings; and disrupt the economic and social structure of the targeted region. Researchers have suggested various factors as key causes behind such acts of aggression, in a bid to understand the psyche of the terrorists. These factors range from local ethnic clashes to public outrage and dissent against international forces mainly arising due to differences in religious and cultural ideologies (Cordesman, 1989; DiGiovanni, 1999). Most of the researchers are of the opinion that most of such acts are carried out by individuals or groups belonging to terrorist organizations with a view to achieving their organizational missions (Gambetta, 2006). The use of WMD by terrorists has been in existence for several decades now and continues to remain as a potential threat to the United States as well as rest of the world. This paper aims to assess and analyze the use of weapons of mass destruction by terrorists by way of various case studies.