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Toxic Terror: Assessing Terrorist Use of Chemical and Biological Weapons

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Introduction
Jonathan B. Tucker
This chapter addresses the characteristics and history of chemical and biological weapons, and technological, motivational and organizational hurdles to terrorist acquisition of these weapons.
Chapter 2 Avenging Israel's Blood (1946)
Ehud Sprinzak & Idith Zertal
In the aftermath of World War II, a small group of former anti-Nazi partisans and Holocaust survivors plotted to contaminate the water supplies of major German cities, in revenge for atrocities carried out against Jews. Although this plot was never realized, the group did succeed in poisoning the bread of Nazi SS storm troopers held at a prisoner-of-war camp near Nuremberg, sickening more than two thousand.
Chapter 3 The Weather Underground (1970)
John V. Parachini
For more than twenty years, scholars have referred to an attempt by the leftist Vietnam-era group to acquire agents from the U.S. Army's research center at Fort Detrick, Maryland. But an analysis of the sources for this allegation combined with contemporary interviews raise serious doubts that the Weather Underground attempted to acquire chemical or biological weapons.
Chapter 4 R.I.S.E. (1972)
W. Seth Carus
College students in Chicago with an extreme environmentalist ideology attempted to culture deadly biological agents for aerosol release or to contaminate urban water supplies, but they lacked the technical know-how to do so successfully.
Chapter 5 The Alphabet Bomber (1974)
Jeffrey D. Simon
Muharem Kurbegovic, also known as the "Alphabet Bomber," was one of the first to threaten to release nerve agents in populated areas. The engineer, acting in the name of a fictitious group called "Aliens of America," was responsible for a series of bombings in Los Angeles.
Chapter 6 The Baader-Meinhof Gang (1975)
David Claridge
Academic papers discussing the terrorist use of chemical and biological weapons commonly refer to the German leftist group's acquisition of mustard gas and its threat to use the agent against German cities. Investigation of this alleged incident, however, reveals no credible evidence that canisters of mustard gas reported missing from U.S. military stocks in West Germany were acquired by the group.
Chapter 7 The Red Army Faction (1980)
Terence Taylor & Tim Trevan
Based on European journalistic accounts, the scholarly literature reports that a police raid discovered a small laboratory for producing botulinum toxin in a Red Army Faction safe house in Paris. Examination of sources and contemporary interviews, however, reveal no credible evidence that the German leftist group planned a biological attack.
Chapter 8 The Rajneeshees (1984)
W. Seth Carus
A religious cult poisoned local Oregon officials and contaminated restaurant salad bars with Salmonella food poisoning bacteria, and considered employing more deadly pathogens, in an effort to manipulate a local election. The results sickened at least 751 restaurant patrons. The incident represents the only bioterrorist attack known to have caused illness, and illustrates the complexities of employing biological weapons.
Chapter 9 The Covenant, the Sword, and the Arm of the Lord (1985)
Jessica E. Stern
A white supremacist, survivalist group acquired thirty gallons of potassium cyanide with the intention of poisoning water supplies in major U.S. cities, in order to kill non-whites and usher in Armageddon. The FBI arrested the plotters before they could strike.
Chapter 10 The Minnesota Patriots Council (1991)
Jonathan B. Tucker & Jason Pate
A tax-resistance group extracted ricin, a natural poison, from castor beans and conspired to assassinate local and federal law enforcement officials, becoming the first people to be convicted and sentenced under the 1989 Biological Weapons Anti-Terrorism Act. The case demonstrates the relative ease of acquiring certain biological toxins, and the possible motivations for use.
Chapter 11 The World Trade Center Bombers (1993)
John V. Parachini
Although the World Trade Center bombing marked the beginning of a new phase of terrorism involving the indiscriminate killing of civilians, it was not, as subsequently asserted, the first incident of chemical terrorism. Ramzi Yousef, the mastermind behind the attack, considered employing chemical agents in the bombing and subsequent attacks, but the evidence refutes the trial judge's assertion that the bomb contained cyanide.
Chapter 12 Aum Shinrikyo (1995)
David E. Kaplan
The apocalyptic religious sect attained worldwide notoriety after its sarin attack on the Tokyo subway, which killed twelve and injured more than one thousand. This case study focuses on the motivations and belief system that led the group to develop and use unconventional weapons, the acquisition and development process, and the group's failure to employ biological weapons successfully.
Chapter 13 Larry Wayne Harris (1998)
Jessica E. Stern
Harris, an anti-government activist, was arrested in Las Vegas for possessing what he claimed to be "military grade anthrax." Although the agent was revealed to be a harmless vaccine strain, the trained microbiologist had previously attempted to purchase Yersinia pestis, the bacterium that causes bubonic plague, from a Maryland culture collection. The Harris case prompted the U.S. government to tighten regulations on transfers of microbial pathogens and toxins.
Chapter 14 Lessons from the Case Studies
Jonathan B. Tucker
This chapter compares the historical case studies, excluding the three apocryphal cases for which solid evidence is lacking. The characteristics of likely CBW terrorists are discussed and associated motivational factors are analyzed.
Appendix Psychological and Motivational Factors in Terrorist Decision-Making: Implications for CBW Terrorism
Jerrold M. Post
This appendix discusses the individual psychology and group dynamics of terrorism, and analyzes the different types of terrorist groups for their propensity to use chemical or biological weapons.


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