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Terrorist use of nuclear and radiological weapons

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What do you think are the prospects for al Qaeda and/or other sub-state actors to acquire and use CBRN?

I think that the prospects are favorable for sub-state actors to acquire and use CBRN. There are thousands of groups around the world with militant agendas and the willingness to use violence to meet those agendas. In thinking about this question I believe it is important to identify the factors that would limit the ability or willingness of sub-state actors to acquire and use CBRN as well as examine the reasons they may choose to use them.

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Discussion of the potential for terrorist groups to acquire and use chemical, biological, radioactive and/or nuclear weapons. Over 1,000 words of original text along with additional websites with important information.

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What do you think are the prospects for al Qaeda and/or other sub-state actors to acquire and use CBRN?

I think that the prospects are favorable for sub-state actors to acquire and use CBRN. There are thousands of groups around the world with militant agendas and the willingness to use violence to meet those agendas. In thinking about this question I believe it is important to identify the factors that would limit the ability or willingness of sub-state actors to acquire and use CBRN as well as examine the reasons they may choose to use them.

? Financial deterrents: The money involved in the production and acquisition of the materials can be quite significant depending on the materials. However, since many of these sub-state entities are already involved in illicit activities that are very profitable money will not be an issue for them. On the individual or cell level the acquisition of CBRN would generally be cost-prohibitive but not on the larger scale.

? Motivation: There must be a motivation for groups to use these types of weapons. Groups do exist with long-established grievances and a demonstrated willingness to use force. The IRA in the United Kingdom, the Basque separatist movement in Spain, the FARC in Colombia and others are all organizations that one can visualize using these agents. Not all motivation however need be political in nature. There are ideological and religious motivators chief among them the tension in the Middle East between Israel and the Arab nations. The Muslim extremists and their ideological war against the United States and ...

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