Biological Weapons of Terror - Example

Biological Weapons Author’s Name Institution Lecture Date Route of Travel From Uganda to the coast of Kenya, various means of transport can be employed biological weapons of terror. This can range from road transport, to railway, boat and airway. From Kampala (capital of Uganda) to Mombasa (coast of Kenya) stands a distance of around twelve hundred kilometers. It takes around 18 hours driving at around 100 kilometers per hour. Both of these countries are in East Africa and have been a recent focus of all sorts of terrorist activities. There have been bombings in Kampala which resulted in death of several people. In 1998, the capital of Kenya (Nairobi) was attacked by Islamic extremist (Weru, 2005). Their target was the American Embassy. Scores of people were injured and many died during the attack. Mombasa has also had a flurry of terrorist activities with several attacks at hotels. From Uganda to Kenya, the bio-terrorist weapons can gain access through road, air or water. Via water, they pass through Lake Victoria to Kisumu city on the Kenyan side. There are several modes of water transport that can be employed including motor boats and row boats. The Lake is not fully guarded and hence substances can be easily smuggled without notice. Apart from water transport, road is also an important form. From Kampala, the truck travels to Jinja (a major mining town) to Mayuge before reaching Busia at the Kenyan Uganda border. Here, there is a checkpoint (Weru, 2005). From this point, one route passes directly to Kisumu while the other passes through Malaba, which is another border point, eventually reaching Eldoret, which is a major Agricultural town in Kenya. Both roads converge in Nakuru which is among the older towns in Kenya. The road on the Ugandan side is rougher and hence speed of travel is lessened. On the Kenyan side, most of the roads have been renovated. The road passes through Kijabe town, Naivasha town, then Limuru, before reaching Nairobi, which is the capital city of the Kenya. The capital is a big city housing many international offices. From Nairobi, the road stretches 520 kilometers to Mombasa passing through Mlolongo town, to Mtito Andei, through Tsavo National Park, the Voi before arriving at the coast of Kenya. From here, a plane can be boarded to the United States. It is important to mention that the major airport is in Nairobi. This is the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport. Direct flights to New York are available. From here, the distance to Hartford in Connecticut is around 150 kilometers via rail. Security Vulnerabilities Security vulnerabilities are the points of susceptibility in a given locality. These possess some characteristics that make them more vulnerable. It can also be defined as the risk factors for occurrence of a bio-terrorism attack. For those with an intention to kill massively, public transport is a perfect target. Certain characteristics make mass public transportation more vulnerable to terrorist attacks. The public transport system is designed to function in a non-restricted manner (openly) so that many people can travel easily and quickly. This makes the control and supervision of persons moving in or out cumbersome (Hoel, 1992). It is also expensive to ensure that the access points on the routes are safe. Passengers are strangers to each other hence the terrorist can keep a low profile with ease. Most of the transport areas are designed in small spaces; hence people concentration and density in such areas make them more vulnerable to bio-terrorism attacks. Large number of passenger that use any form of transit network more so during rush hours is a huge security risk. Other characteristics may make an area to be more susceptible to attacks. Areas of economic importance are frequent targets of these terrorism activities. Big metropolitan cities are at high risk of these activities as evidenced by history. Areas that are tourist destination sites attract terrorists. This is as evidenced by an attack of a tourist hotel in Mombasa that killed several people (Hoel, 1992). Crowded and busy streets and avenue are also vulnerable places as it is hard to implement any security measures on such. It is impossible to design each public place with systems of safety. It is also against the society openness. Furthermore, it is also ineffective to do the above thus such places still remain vulnerable. Another vulnerability that can be encountered along the way is the lack of expertise across the borders. Some border points may lack trained personnel to deal with this form of terrorism. This means that the countries lack the capacity to monitor the bio-terrorism activities and also the terrorist themselves. Poor security measures across the same borders are also a source of vulnerability. All the above points may allow the easy exchange of highly dangerous agent without being noticed from one country to another or one state to another (Hoel, 1992). Economic situation of the country also may translate to vulnerability. Since most African countries are developing countries, they may lack the resources to implement security measures. Such countries may lack a task force on anti-terrorism. They may also lack the latest equipment and technology to prevent the same. This means that terrorism activities go unnoticed and bio-terrorism weapons can easily be shipped without detection (Hoel, 1992). Detection and Prevention For the past years, terrorist attacks have been a problem to both developed and developing countries. It is thus necessary for a country to come up with measures to prevent the occurrence of these attacks. The success of these depends on the cooperation of the government, police departments, militaries and the citizens. Although these measures are important, they serve to prevent the risk and impact but not the occurrence of the attack. Prevention of insurgency acts involves identification of probable insurgency acts and the response to associated events. There are various points at which mitigation measures may be implemented. This include: production point, transportation points, target areas and response centres to the attacks. There are various measures that can be implemented at the production point which include: restriction of area to authorized personnel, surveillance of the area, employment of adequate security personnel and checking the integrity of the storage facility. Those visiting the area should be given identification tags and escorted by a security guard during their visit to the facility. The facility should employee trained security personnel. Surveillance of the facility should be done on a 24 hour basis with shifts done every 6 hours. Vital information about the biological agent should only be accessible to specified persons in the company. The company should set up a system that is capable of monitoring the storage facilities. It should be able to detect any unauthorized removal of the product from the facility. Furthermore, the company should facilitate biosecurity training sessions so as to equip their security personnel with counter terrorism information. There are various ways of transporting biological agents to be used in a terrorist attack. These include the roads, rail, waters and air. There should be routine inspections carried by security personnel at the entry points. The government should invest in putting up surveillance at the entry stations. This will help in monitoring the inflow and outflow of goods and persons. It is important to educate the citizens to report any suspicious activity to the police. This will enhance surveillance in the remote areas. Mitigation measures at the target area deals with the following aspects: recognition of a prospective target, decreasing the worth and visibility of the target to the terrorist, increasing security in the target area and restricting admission to the target area (Jenkins & Gersten, 2001). There are various factors that influence the choice of a target area. Terrorist always aim at vulnerable target with maximum property and victims. This means that they target areas that are highly populated and with valuable property. Security measures are not capable or preventing the occurrence of an attack but go a long way in reducing the number of victims and damage on the property. Enhancing the security level at the vulnerable areas is aimed at limiting access to the areas as well as surveillance to the area. This involves the introduction of a security system that requires one to identify oneself before accessing the area (Graf, 2008). Other measures include adequate lighting of the spaces in the area while allocating more security personnel to the vulnerable areas. There should be better communication with the police and other disaster management facilities where suspicious cases are reported. The relevant bodies should put building codes that help in disaster prevention. These include a well ventilation system that can be monitored and altered to prevent the spread of the Viral Hemorrhagic Fever. Other measures include: an emergency exit point and a system that will detect and raise the alarm in case of a security breach. The building codes should be aimed at making the property terrorist proof so as to decrease the extent of damage resulting from an attack. The implementing of security measures at the target area will decrease the worth of the area to terrorist. It will further decrease the visibility to the area as there will be limited access to the area. This is because terrorists always aim at an area where they can cause maximum damage and attack by surprise. It will thus reduce the attractiveness to the area due to reduced vulnerability. The domestic security system working alongside the government should come up with counter terrorism policies. In the 2005 the UK government, came up with the Prevention of Terrorism Act which was created in response to the Law Lord’s ruling. Other acts should be put in place that recognizes terrorism as an offense to human rights. The government should come up with response strategies in case of a terrorist attack. This includes the evacuations procedures, hospitals, counseling and providing for other basic needs. There should be hospitals that are capable of responding adequately and dealing with infection caused by the Hemorrhagic Fever Virus. The government should set up funds to cater the citizens following a terrorist attack. The domestic security system should be able to evacuate people from the site without causing unnecessary fear (Graf, 2008). The response measures put in place should be aimed at reassuring people of their safety. Following the occurrence of an attack, the domestic security system should be able to intercept all communications occurring in the country. This will enable easy tracing the terrorist as well discourage the sending of insurgency messages. The international security system should facilitate the tracing of any suspects. This means that there should be advanced means of communication between the domestic and international security system. The implementation of security mitigations may face the following challenges: cost, restricted security budgets and competition for budget’s main concern (Jenkins & Gersten, 2001). This means that although the mitigation measures may be important, their implementation may be difficult due to budget constraints. Reference List Hoel, L. (1992). Public Transportation Security. New Jersey: Prentice Hall. Graf, C. (2008). Terrorism and Public Transport. London: Oxford. Jenkins, B., & Gersten, L. (2001). Protecting Public Surface Transportation against Terrorism and Serious Crime. New York: McGraw Hill. Weru, M. (2005). In and out of East Africa. Nairobi: Macmillian. Read More