U.S. VULNERABILITY TO TECHNOLOGICAL TERRORISM

The Berkowitz study points to several areas of vulnerability. Metropolitan water supplies are subject to contamination. Although poisons would dissipate in a large volume of water, general public reaction would be one of panic. In addition, criminal organizations have attempted to produce chemical weapons for extortion and assassination. Berkowitz and his colleagues also point out attempts to steal or produce CBWs in Europe and the United States.

Robert Mullen (1978) also examines modern society's vulnerability to technological weapons. The capacity for mass destruction is a recent historical development. In the past, killing many people required many people to do the killing. Technology has changed this. Mass destruction terrorism can be inferred from CBWs and nuclear weapons.

Mullen states that terrorism based on massively destructive weapons involves skills that few terrorist groups possess. Technical weapons require technical skills and support networks. Many groups lack these capacities, but Mullen says the past may not be indicative of the future. The capability for mass destruction exists.

Robert Kupperman and Darrell Trent (1979) deal with some of the issues posed by technological threats. Kupperman (1985b) examines the issue again, with a specific focus on organizational responses to technological threats, and he describes the potential threat that technological terrorism poses for the United States. Both Kupperman and Trent strike a middle ground, however, between complacently ignoring the problem and overreacting to it.