Terrorism's Future - Research Paper Example

Terrorism’s future Terrorism involves application of physical force with the aim of harming a target, or intimidating a target for a political gain. Kidnapping a nation’s citizens or a weaponry attack on a country’s interest to invoke political decision is an example. This paper explores nuclear weapon terrorism as the next biggest terrorist threat and identifies possible mitigation measures by the United States and its allies.The next biggest terrorist threatEven though nuclear weapons have not been used for terrorism, the trend in terrorism and proliferation of the weapons identify possible access of nuclear weapons by terrorist groups and application of such weapons.

One of the major factors that identify nuclear weapon terrorism as the next biggest threat is preparedness against other forms of terrorism, by nations such as the United States, through defense forces. This followed the New York City attack that identified vulnerability to terrorism. The New York City attack also led to exploration of possibility of nuclear terrorism attack against the United States. Following the readiness and the knowledge that an ordinary offensive might not be successful, terrorist groups must be exploring more deadly approaches such as application of nuclear weapons and weapons of mass destructions.

America’s high position in the international community also identifies it as a potential terrorist target and fears have been raised during the nation’s major events such as “the 2009 inauguration ceremony of President Barack Obama” (Richelson, 2012, P. 1). Such terrorist target may attract efforts for mega terrorist attacks such as application of nuclear weapons (Richelson, 2012). Development of nuclear weapons by countries such as India and Pakistan together with fears that countries like North Korea and Iran could have accessed the weapons is another threat of possible nuclear terrorism against Nuclear Weapon Countries such as the United States.

This is because the countries have a responsibility to ensure non-proliferation or non-development of nuclear weapons by countries other than the Nuclear Weapon Countries. An enemy to such a responsibility may therefore use the deadly weapons to intimidate against control nuclear weapons’ armament and proliferation (Nti, n.d; Montgomery, 2010). Trend in development of technology also raises fears that terrorist groups can secretly develop nuclear weapons in a nation or smuggle the weapons. These factors therefore identify possibility of access and transfer of nuclear weapons by terrorist groups to targets countries for application (Nci, n.d). Possible mitigation measures by the United States and its alliesThe United States together with its allies can however apply a number of measures to mitigate threats of nuclear terrorism.

One of the measures involves evaluation of the probability that a terrorist group can develop or access nuclear weapons for use. Results from such evaluations can then be used to plan for prevention of possible attacks. Another possible mitigation measure is assessment of potential nuclear threats such as established nuclear weapon facilities and ensuring their safety. The United States and its allies can also develop mechanisms for detecting possible smuggling of nuclear weapons across their boarders (Richelson, 2012).

ConclusionTerrorism is an imminent threat because of political differences between nations and organizations, and terrorist groups. Proliferation of nuclear weapons and possibility of the weapons’ development by terrorists identifies nuclear weapon terrorism as the next biggest terrorist threat. Such a threat can however be prevented by assessment of terrorist groups and existing nuclear weapon facilities, and vigilance to detect transfer of the weapons into the United States or its allies. These mechanisms allow for identification of threats for preventive measures.

ReferencesMontgomery, E. (2010). Understanding the threat of nuclear terrorism. Center For Strategic and Budgetary Assessment. Retrieved from: http://www.csbaonline.org/publications/2010/04/understanding-the-threat-of-nuclear-terrorism/. Nci. (n.d). Nuclear terrorism --- How to prevent it. Retrieved from: http://www.nci.org/nci-nt.htm. Nti. (n.d.). Understanding nuclear threats. Nuclear Threat Initiative. Retrieved from: http://www.nti.org/threats/nuclear/.Richelson, J. (2012). Nuclear terrorism: Threat and response.

George Washington University. Retrieved from: http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/nukevault/ebb388/