Terrorist Violence - Its Mechanics and Countermeasures (From Fighting Back, P 25-33, 1986, Neil C Livingstone and Terrell E Arnold, eds. See NCJ-100374)

• NCJ Number: 100376
• Author(s): C C Ketcham; H J McGeorge
• Date Published: 1986
• Length: 9 pages
• Sale Source: D C Heath and Co
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

Countermeasures should address the following likely terrorist weaponry: mechanical devices; small arms; incendiaries; explosives; standoff weapons; chemical, biological, and toxin agents; and nuclear devices.

Abstract

Mechanical devices include caltrops (spiked nettles) to puncture tires and ice picks to wound and kill. Caltrops can be detected by road checks, and ice picks can be deflected by shock plates on bullet-resistant garments. Small arms, particularly submachine guns, have been made increasingly dangerous by the availability of armor-piercing ammunition and ammunition with a rapid energy transfer rate. Protection will depend on the construction of improved bullet-resistant materials. Car bombs, a major terrorist explosive threat, can be defeated by limiting vehicular access to likely targets. Incendiary devices can be used to penetrate thick steel doors. Standoff weapons, such as truck-mounted mortars, shoulder-fired antitank rockets, and wire-guided missiles, can be countered by the erection of appropriate barriers around likely targets. Chemical, biological, and toxin agents are difficult to defend against except by controlling their availability. The dispersal of nuclear waste material as an aerosol, the most likely initial step in nuclear terrorism, can be countered by controlling access to such material.