|
This volume, follow-on to an earlier set of essays on terrorism produced as a collaborative effort between the Advanced Systems and Concepts Office and the Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution, examines a specific, and potentially catastrophic, threat to the international community, that of apocalyptic terrorism. In a series of essays it examines the nature, causes, objectives, and motivations behind a type of terrorism that sees few bounds, both as to targets and as to the means used to attack them. It is a threat that haunts political decision-makers and has led to the expenditure of literally billions of dollars seeking to defend and protect populations from the ravages of terrorists whose means and ends seem to converge. Yet, if these essays analyze this extreme type of terrorism, they do not attempt to hype it; rather, through varying perspectives, they hope to provide greater understanding both of the nature and the causes of rage that might lead individuals and groups to employ apocalyptic means to achieve their goals.