NCJ Number
181181
Journal
Studies in Conflict and Terrorism Volume: 22 Issue: 4 Dated: October-December 1999 Pages: 277-309
Date Published
1999
Length
33 pages
Annotation
This article compares the proliferation activities of the substate terrorist groups Aum Shinrikyo and al Qaida, Osama bin Laden's organization.
Abstract
Aum Shinrikyo is the Japanese cult that released the nerve agent sarin simultaneously on five subway trains in Tokyo, causing 12 deaths and 5,500 injuries. Qaida, Osama bin Laden's organization, was blamed for the 1998 bombings of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. This article argues that despite numerous differences in organizational dynamics and structure as well as in motivation between the two groups, there are several striking similarities in the methods they have used to acquire weapons of mass destruction (WMD). By discussing and analyzing the groups' respective proliferation activities, this study highlights these similarities; in doing so, it not only formulates lessons for countering future dangers, it also bridges a gap in the considerable volume of work currently being produced on the subject of WMD terrorism. Both of these groups have substantial financial resources, which set them apart from the majority of terrorist groups. This wealth has widespread implications, ranging from the variety of weapons that each group has been able to pursue simultaneously to the mitigation of practical issues, such as group survival and homogeneity, that arises from the need to be constantly financing a campaign. Further, this financial independence enables these groups to buy their way out of the technical difficulties they encounter and to continue pursuing multiple weapons and the materials and techniques necessary to acquire them. Consequently, both groups have pursued a multinational, multi-track strategy toward their objective, simultaneously seeking nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons. 149 notes